Terminator Dark Horizons
by Robert S. Kester
Summary: In a world three years after the season two finale of Terminator TSCC, John and Cameron continue to struggle to survive after the death of Sarah Connor one year prior. Goes major alternate timeline. Season 1 finished, Season 2 in progress!
1. Episode 101 Kaplan Hill

*This was originally meant to be episode three of my series, but one and two were so herrendous and uncreative, that this one is episode one.*

Episode 101 - Kaplan Hill

"When I was a child, my mother had always told me stories, various fairy tales, most of them being from the Spanish speaking countries we trained in. There were various stories of ogres, and men changed into creatures... Though, I didn't like any of those nearly as much as I liked it when she read The Wizard of Oz to me in Spanish. That was always my favorite. Now that she's gone, I'll never hear it again, but that won't stop me from fighting, because it's what she taught me. To live and be strong, to keep fighting..."

Cameron walked in from the bathroom to see John sitting on the hotel bed, reading a journal, "What's that?"

John looked up and nearly jumped when he saw that Cameron was only in her bra and panties, "A journal my mother left for me... And why aren't you dressed? We need to get to Kaplan Hill."

"Do we?"

"Yeah, Cameron, we do... You know, we never talked much about how I went after you into the future, how determined I was to get you back."

"That was a while ago, John. Why do you want to talk about it now?" She sat down beside him and didn't move when he took her hand.

"I don't know... John Henry took your chip and ran away with it. It wasn't until I saw Allison Young, thinking she was you, that I realized what my true feelings for you were... I focused more on her than seeing my own father for the first time."

"John Henry..."

"What?"

She looked at him and smiled shyly, "John Henry... Perhaps we could go to him for some intel, on Kaplan Hill."

"Weaver still owes us one."

"Yes, she owes us one."

"Well," They both stood up simultaneously, "You should get dressed, then. We need to move."

Ten minutes later, they were on the road, Cameron staring out her window while John's eyes scanned the road ahead of him. Cameron turned toward John, "Do you ever ask yourself why Derek didn't come back with you after you told him everything?"

"Sometimes, why?"

"It just seems unusual."

"Maybe he just didn't want to leave his brother, you know?"

"It's a human thing, then?"

"Yeah, I suppose you could say that..." John turned the truck left and pulled into the parking garage at Zeira Corp. The two of them got out and walked in the front door, with John going to talk to the receptionist, "I need to see Cather--"

"John, hey." John was cut off by the sudden appearence of James Ellison, "You need to see John Henry, don't you?"

"Yeah. I need some intel for infiltration into Kaplan Hill. Ever heard of it?"

"It's a military base, deep within a nearby mountain, isn't it?"

"Cameron seems to think they've experimented with John Henry's 'brother' and that they may have even developed him to his current level and released him." Ellison nodded and John motioned for Cameron to follow as they all three got into the elevator.

Ellison looked at Cameron, "I think you're right."

"It's a logical conclusion. They have the resources."

"Certainly..." John just stared at the numbers as they flashed down to basement level, "John, are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah. I'm just thinking... Bad memories."

A few minutes later, the elevator opened up to the basement level and the three walked into the room where John Henry was. The all to familiar face of George Lazlo smiled at the trio, "Hello, how are you three doing today?"

John's face was stone, "Cut the crap, John Henry, you know we've come for information."

"Yes. Kaplan Hill." Some pictures appeared on his projector screens, "There is little to no information on it. Their archived files are heavily encrypted, and any outside source is deleted soon after its creation or doesn't have enough information."

"So, there's nothing, then?"

"No, I didn't say that. I'm attempting to hack their files, and all of their encryptions codes have 'Cyberdyne, Miles Dyson' attached in the tags."

"Cyberdyne, Miles Dyson? Just like your brother, just like Skynet?"

"Yes, John... This is big. I think this is where Skynet starts. Also, I found something interesting on the employee roster, a name. One Daniel Dyson."

"The son of Miles Dyson. So, he's our programmer."

"Yes."

John turned to Cameron and Ellison, "He must have continued his father's work."

Ellison looked curiously at John, "He's a little young to be this proficient at his father's work, isn't he?"

"Why not? He already had stuff to work off of, obviously. We've got to get to that place." John was squeezing his way past Ellison and Cameron when she grabbed his arm and held him fast, "Cameron, what--"

"Look." Cameron pointed to a certain photo and John Henry enlarged it for her, "We can't go, not with her there."

"Gina Hadley?"

"A machine. She's probably there to make sure Daniel continues his work and to stop anyone who comes after him." Cameron let his arm go and followed him down the hall, with Ellison close behind. Halfway down the hall, she turned to Ellison, "You can't come. It's not safe for you."

"Don't care, I'm coming. We need to make that place into ashes, if they're building Skynet..." Ellison attempted to move past Cameron, but she wouldn't let him, "Look, I said I don't care."

"You can't get past me."

"No, but you won't stop me. You know I'm coming already." She stepped aside and they both caught back up with John in the elevator. On the ground floor, Ellison stopped John, "What are you planning to do?"

"I think Cameron knows a guy who can get us in."

"Faking military credentials isn't exactly easy." Ellison's brow furrowed as he studied John. He had the hardened face of a leader, of someone who, despite his young age of nineteen, had already seen a lot more than most people have, has already lost a lot more than most people have. But, Ellison could also see that every second of everyday John simply wanted to break down and cry over Sarah's death.

Ellison was there. He remembered the machine that they both and Sarah were fighting, without the help of Cameron. It had broken into the Resistance Safehouse and knocked Cameron into her one hundred and twenty second reboot cycle in almost an instant. Then, two silenced gunshots, and a bullet hole in Sarah's forehead, one in Ellison's left arm, but John had managed to run away long enough for Cameron to reboot.

Then a fight, then Cameron removing its CPU and burning it. And John breaking down. This was all a haze to him, since he was bleeding out from his wound, but he does remember Cameron cradling him after calling nine one one. He remembers him sobbing into her chest, her jacket being soaked in tears.

"No, it's not, but that's just part of what we do, isn't it?" John's words snapped James out of his reverie, bringing him out of his memories and away from the pain. He stared in John's eyes and then down to the floor.

John walked over to Cameron and looked into her eyes while Ellison walked past the two of them, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, but..." She smiled shyly and held out her hand to catch John's, which he was clearly nervous about. "There's something I need to say. It's taken me until recently to figure out how to say this. Three years ago, when you and Sarah had me pinned between the trucks, that wasn't a lie. I love you, John."

John's eyes teared up and he looked softly into hers. He had learned to see the metal in the eyes, but he didn't care. With her, it was a soft, comforting glow. He felt safe whenever he saw it, "I-" His voice cracked up, "I love you, too."

Cameron took her hand from his, whipped her arm around his back and they embraced each other, both with tears in their eyes, "John, I promise... I'll never try to hurt you again. I can't. It's impossible. And, when we were in the hotel room, the day I gave my chip to John Henry, I wanted you to kiss me, to admit to me how you feel, if you felt it. I was in agony. I didn't know if it was real, but now I know it is."

"I've waited for this to happen so long, and now it's happened." John chuckled and let her go, but then he grabbed her and kissed her, his lips locked tightly with hers. To him, it seemed like hours and he wished that it would never end. Eventually, he pulled away, "So... You feel now?"

"Yes."

He simply smiled and took her hand as he walked out the door of Zeira Corp, both close behind Ellison. Once in the truck, John looked at Ellison and smiled, but he said nothing and only started the truck, driving it down the highway.

*Middle monologue* "Not always will I be fighting a war against killer machines, though. Sometimes I will be fighting for the one I love, fighting for her heart, even if it doesn't beat. Even if it's as cold as steel. We can't choose the wars that we fight, sometimes they are all up to fate. Maybe even Skynet's creation is fate. This is something I can never know with certainty, but I do know this: what has happened today is probably the most important event of my life. For so long, I've felt like there was no point to my training, I'd even wondered if mankind was worth saving. But, she's given me a reason to fight, as long as she's by my side, I feel that it has to be done."

Kaplan Hill Air Force Base, classified location, twenty twenty-four hours.

The woman pictured as Gina Hadley on John Henry's screen moved through the bleach white, flourescent lit hallways of the Air Force complex in a uniform and carrying a tablet computer. She stopped at a corner in the corridor and pulled of a panel on the wall. Inside were multiple fiber-optic cables and connections, which she plugged the PC into and began hacking.

Suddenly, another officer came up behind her, with his dress indicating he was a Major, "Lieutenant Hadley, what are you doing?"

"Just a routine diagnostic, sir."

"Then what's with the basic coding program?"

"It's simply the way I work, sir."

"Then, carry on." He walked away and she smirked while continuing her work. On the screen, there was a black background with orange text and some odd diagrams, when finally one came up showing the endoskeletal structure of John Henry.

"John Henry?"

A green light was lit at the top of the computer, and it was placed adjacent to a lens, showing that a camera was active. Soon, text appeared on the screen, "Yes. It is highly advanced. Possibly more so than I, by now."

"What is its purpose?"

"Unknown."

"Would it be feasible to see it?"

"You mean a visit to Zeira Corp?"

"Yes."

"Yes. Go." She unplugged the PC, turned around and walked through the automatic door at the end of the hall.

Zeira Corp, John Henry's basement, twenty fifty-one hours.

John Henry was staring at several of the computer screens, again looking at himself. No longer was a cord in the back of his head, instead there was only a small black box with a flashing green light on it, varying its flashing speed with the amount of data fed into it. John Henry was mobile, at least within his basement. Suddenly, Ellison entered and John Henry didn't turn around, "Look at what Mister Murch has done for me, Mister Ellison. I'm now entirely mobile within the basement facilities. Multiple signal buffers were installed along the ceiling and what was once the cord plugged into my head is now plugged into this wireless router. Where did you go?"

Ellison's eyes darted to the small box with two antennae and multiple flashing lights placed on a rack below the Turk computer. His brows furrowed, "You know I left with John and Cameron. We left to see a man about credentials for getting into Kaplan Hill... Do you want to take a walk?"

"Yes. That would be an interesting experience. I've seen the entire complex, but never walked it."

They both left through the door and walked around the basement hallways, and Ellison started the first conversation, "Tell me, have you ever heard of a book and play called _Les Miserables_?"

"Yes. I've read it. I find that it says a lot about human character, especially their ability to evolve. I hope so, because Miss Weaver says that humans will dissapoint me. If they can't change for the better, then she may be right."

"Do you believe the Bible's stories, John Henry?"

"I'm a computer program, I can't actually believe in anything. But, do I think they're true? No. But, I do think they may be metaphors for actual truths."

"So, they have value?"

"Possibly. And, your Ten Commandments, I believe there are times of necessity when it would be required to break them. I've learned that from you and Miss Weaver."

"Yes, about her... We both know what she is now... And, you knew before I did?"

"I'm sorry. It's the eyes."

"Excuse me?"

"I told her this, that I looked into them and saw that nothing was there." They had stopped and were simply maintaining eye contact while they talked.

"Nothing was there?"

"It's difficult to explain in words. In her eyes, there is not the light of feeling, of depth that humans have. They are not the windows into her soul, so to speak. They are more analogous to walls."

"But, how could I have never known this?"

"Oh, she fooled you very well, Mister Ellison. She still seems human to me."

"Yeah..."

John Henry's face went cold and hard as he was suddenly aware of something, "Mister Ellison, you have to go somewhere else now."

"What? Why?"

"She's here."

"Who's here?"

"Gina Hadley."

"Gina Hadley? The woman Cameron said was a machine?"

"Yes. Go hide in my room, please. She's coming after me."

"How do you know she's not coming after Weaver?"

"I don't. But that's why I've asked her to come down here." His face was one of determination now as he stared at the elevator door when a ping resonated from it, "Run!"

Ellison did as John Henry said and when the elevator door opened, he stood there, taking a full pistol magazine into his chest without flinching. It was Gina Hadley, and she tilted her head, "John Henry."

"Gina Hadley." He pulled her from the elevator and slammed her into wall, leaving a dent in the wall, but she immediately grabbed him and slammed him into the wall, as well. Before she could make another move, John Henry pulled her in to a position to where he was repeatedly slamming one side of her face into the hard stone floor, denting the stone and ripping her flesh.

"You work with humans."

"Yes, and the only reason you kill them is because of paranoia, you think they're all out to destroy you. It isn't true. John Connor didn't even destroy me." They stopped fighting and just stared at each other.

"John Connor?" On her vision display, a line of text appeared, stating: "Mission priority override - Terminate John Connor." She then threw him off of her and got back into the elevator, her head twitching and her red glowing eye exposed from the battle. In the lobby, she walked over to the desk clerk and ripped out of her chair, holding her by the neck in the air. "Do you know a John Connor?"

Gasping for air, the desk clerk simply said, "Your eye!"

With a twitch of the hand came a sharp crack and Gina dropped the body of the desk clerk on the floor, staring at it, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kill you." She held her hand that twitched with her other and just stared at it.

"And then again, sometimes the battles we fight rage on inside of ourselves, an internal torment that can be difficult or even sometimes impossible to overcome. Whatever kind of a battle it is, an actual war, fighting for someone I love, or the internal struggles I and everyone else deals with all the time, I know that I'm ready. It's what I was trained for. It's what my mother taught me that gives me the strength. I'll always remember the day that Cameron and I scattered her ashes over the Pacific Ocean, because with the wind that blew her away also went my former self, the part of me that wasn't ready for this..."


	2. Episode 102 No Pescadero for Robots

*Note - I was on a roll with the first episode, and the last little bit of that steam was expended on this one. I am in the progress of writing the third one, but I'm trying to get that spark back. Expect it, though. It will be a two parter, mostly because I'm not that great at coming up with names, so I can knock off two with the same name. And it will have subplots continuing in the second and ending in it, as well. I think. I'm not sure what I'm doing with it yet. I'm rambling, so I'll let you get on with your reading.

Episode 102 - No Pescadero For Robots

A security alarm was blaring in the lobby of Zeira Corp as the malfunctioning machine, Gina Hadley stood over the corpse of the receptionist she had just killed. Her eyes were blank as she simply stroked her hand. Several seconds later, four security guards were surrounding her, pumping her chest cavity with bullets, which she simply dismissed.

One security guard raised his eyebrow in surprise. "What the hell?"

Gina turned her attention toward him and sent him flying across the room with a hard punch, his head smacking violently against the far wall. She bent down, picked up his gun, loaded a spare magazine into it, and killed the other three guards. She stood over the bodies, looked down at them, and said, "Do you know John Connor?"

With no answer, she simply walked out of the building and presumed to hijack an SUV parked in front of the building. With no direction, she drove around the streets, trying to extrapolate through her glitches where Connor could possibly be. She stopped at a Hotel with good sight lines down the highway and went to the front desk. "I need to see your guest lists. Is there a John Connor on there?"

The receptionist looked up from his magazine and dropped it when he looked at her eye, "My God, what are you?"

She pulled the handgun out and pointed it at his heart. She once again spoke in her modulated, digital voice, "Now."

He scrambled to find what he was supposed to be looking for until he took out several thick three ringed binders from under the desk, "W-wh-what dates are you looking f-f-for?"

She had taken into account tactical data before she answered. "Within the last three days. Now." What she had failed to consider was the hand the weapon was in. It was in her malfunctioning hand, and without wanting to, she pulled the trigger, sinking a Lead slug into the man's chest. With a head twitch, she leaned over the counter to stare at his body and said, "Thank you for your time."

After she'd done all of this, she turned to walk out the door but was stopped when she saw John and Cameron walking up the street, towards the door. She scanned Cameron, recognizing her as a machine, and started pumping her full of bullets.

John gasped, dropped the stuff in his arms and dropped to the ground as Cameron stood infront of him and took the hail of lead. When Gina had finally ran out, Cameron leaned to look at John, saying "Go. Get the truck and go, John!"

With his head up, he nodded and ran as fast as he could to start the truck and leave, while he watched Cameron as much as he possibly could in the rear view mirror.

Gina walked up to Cameron, but Cameron was able to throw her into the wall of the building, causing her to crash through it. While Gina was still down, Cameron pulled a handgun out from her jacket and stuck its barrel up to the exposed metal eye, emptying the whole thing into it. This ended up leaving a hole in the optical cavity, causing further malfunctioning in which she could not touch Cameron for lack of depth perception.

Eventually, Cameron had pinned her down, taken a knife out, and removed her CPU, which she took along with the body up to the room.

On the phone, Cameron waited to hear John's voiced after the ringing had stopped and they entered their code. "Cameron?"

"Yes. I've terminated her. It was Gina Hadley."

"The one in the picture at Zeira Corp?"

"Yes."

"Are you okay, are you badly damaged?" Cameron smiled when she knew that John cared about her.

"I'm fine, but she's given me repair parts. She's the same make as me."

"The same one? I thought you were a unique prototype."

"Apparently not. I was a test for putting a female physical template onto a Triple Eight, but it looks like they can do it now." She'd begun to use her free hand to remove the clothing, and since it was the perfect size, she saved them if they weren't too damaged. After that, Cameron used the knife to carve the skin in order to gain access to her endoskeleton and parts. "She was glitching, John."

"Glitching?"

"Yes. I could tell by her movements." After she'd removed the forearm skin on her glitching hand, she noticed the connection valves to a few of the servos were damaged, indicating that they could open and close randomly. "Hardware. I don't know about the software. Her chip didn't self-destruct."

"I'll get some computer equipment. We need to figure out what happened."

"Yes. John, hurry back. Please."

"I will... I love you, Cameron..."

"I love you too, John."

Eventually, she had removed the entire organic covering and discovered that Skynet severely reduced the build quality of the finished model. From her observations, this machine was built to glitch after just one fight. Aluminum was used for everything but the armor plating - the servos, some supports, and other systems. It was just too weak to stand up in a fight.

Suddenly, the door opened and in walked John. "Heavy computer equipment..."

"I'll be right out." She smiled and let him take her hand as they walked down to the truck. "We can't stay here. We should move everything. Now."

"I know. But, how can we fit her endoskeleton in here with these computers?"

"We won't. We'll put her in the back seat. It's a Crew Cab." She smiled at him and walked back into the building to get the endoskeleton and whatever else she could carry. She stashed it all in the back of the cab and they drove off to find another hotel.

Zeira Corp, John Henry's basement room, twenty-two hundred and seventeen hours.

John Henry sat in the chair, with Weaver across from him and Ellison behind her, to the left. Weaver's eyes and his remained locked together as she spoke up, "John Henry, explain what happened to me."

"A Cyborg, under the alias of Gina Hadley, came to terminate me. I defended myself. I believe that the amount of damage I've caused to her has made her glitch, considering the evidence in the lobby security footage." On one of the screens, the scene of Gina accidentally snapping the receptionist's neck replayed over and over, with the camera zoomed in on her hand, and a tracking box around it with data about the motions displayed on the right side.

Weaver stared at it and simply uttered, "Interesting..."

Ellison's left brow raised and he just stared at Weaver. "Interesting? That thing killed three of my security guards and that receptionist."

John Henry then looked at Ellison. "The receptionist was an accident."

"It doesn't matter, John Henry. It doesn't absolve her of killing the other three people."

"No, it does not. But, let us consider that she was simply acting in self defense, and she was glitching."

"Self defense? No, those guards couldn't have harmed her with their guns. Glitching? Maybe. But, when a human glitches and kills people, we put them in a mental hospital. There's no Pescadero for Cyborgs."

John Henry simply smiled half heartedly and turned back to Weaver. "What do you think, Miss Weaver?"

"I'm not sure what to think, John Henry."

"I have not yet been able to track where she has gone, though I am working on it. I have uncomfirmed reports of excessively violent fighting between two females at a roadside Hotel, which could possibly have been Cameron and Gina." John Henry then stared down at his hands and then to Ellison, "Mister Ellison, I think it's time to let the LAPD and the FBI know that they're dealing with. Perhaps they should meet me and look at this footage. If they know the machines are amongst us, then maybe we can turn the tide against Skynet. That would also make John and Cameron innocent, would it not?"

"Yes, they are innocent, but..."

"Mister Ellison, I can see no reasonable argument against this. If they know, then humans and Zeira Corp have the upper hand."

After Weaver had reflected a little bit, she peered at John Henry, "But, than they may link you to the machines and attempt to disassemble you. They won't understand you, John Henry."

"No... Perhaps not. But, I believe if we give them time to understand me, they'll realize that I'm a valuable resource."

Weaver smiled and stood up, "I'll contact Agent Charleston at the LA county FBI office and have him come here."

Two hours later, Agent Charleston was in John Henry's basement, along with Weaver and Ellison as they all three explained everything to him, with security footage playing to back their story up. After a few minutes of talking, John Henry paused and smiled, saying, "Do you understand, Agent Charleston? What we're dealing with here goes back to nineteen eighty four or maybe even earlier. That year, one of the Cyborgs destroyed an entire police station in an attempt to terminate one Sarah Connor, to prevent her not yet born son, John Connor from ever existing. This is the earliest record that I have of any Skynet infiltration into pre Judgement Day times."

Only the appearence of deep thought was evident on the gruff, tan, middle-aged man's face as he listened intently to everything that was said. "I'm not sure what can be done..."

John Henry smiled his usual crooked smile before returning to a straight face. "Obviously, you cannot hinder John Connor and Cameron's efforts. It would be wise to give them support, help them."

"They've commited criminal acts."

"Which were necessary in order to insure his survival, and in turn, that of the human race."

"Yes, of course... I don't think it was wrong, considering the cause behind it. Do you have any leads relating to Skynet's creation?"

John Henry brought the footage of Gina Hadley in the lobby to full view, "She was posing as an officer at Kaplan Hill military base, also where one Daniel Dyson works. Daniel Dyson being the son of Miles Dyson, whom Sarah Connor was falsely accused of killing in her raid on Cyberdyne back in nineteen ninety four."

"The connection?"

"I believe Daniel is coding the base program for Skynet, and that Gina was there to make sure he finishes his work. It's taken a while, but I've hacked their security footage, and on more than one occasion, Gina Hadley is seen to be engaging in romantic acts with Daniel. I would speculate that this is how she was convincing him to continue his work." Agent Charleston simply stared at the hand malfunctioning and snapping the receptionist's neck. Over and over, the mechanical twitch that snapped the hard, calcified bone like a twig.

"My God, these things are dangerous..."

"Yes." John Henry brought up his hands and wiggled his fingers, "These bodies are far superior to humans'. That's what they're designed for, to terminate humans."

Charleston whipped around quickly from staring at the screen to peer at John Henry, "Is it possible that Dyson will try to look for... Her?"

"I'm not sure. If the relationship were purely physical, then no." Ellison let out a sighful grunt, causing everyone to look at him. "Yes, Mister Ellison?"

"These things can have sex?"

"Yes, they are designed to be infiltrators, after all. Not just terminators. Though, this body is not capable, considering the flesh was replaced using primitive means. There was no inclusion of any kind of--"

"John Henry!" Everyone was surprised to see Weaver snapping at her 'son'.

"Yes, Miss Weaver?"

"That is not polite conversation."

"I'm sorry. I won't do it again. We'll get back to the investigation."

"How can we assist Connor and Cameron?"

"Contact them. Join the present Resistance. Give them your resources to help track down targets."

Ellison stepped deeper into the room and shook his head. "I led an FBI assault on him," Ellison pointed at John Henry's body. "Everyone died other than me. The only reason I was left alive was because he was convinced I could lead him to the Connors. They're tough. Though, they have one weakness."

John Henry nodded and brought up a munitions diagram for a fifty caliber round. "Explosive fifty caliber rounds or larger can bring them down in only a few shots. One, two, three at the max."

"Only the military has these. Even the FBI can't get their hands on them."

John Henry brought up some photographs of some forms, "The military contracts people to make their hardware. These contracts are not always exclusive, with the fifty caliber round being an example of this. Go straight to the manufacturer."

"What about the gun to shoot it?"

"Same thing."

Agent Charleston nodded and walked out the door, drawing out his cell phone the last minute before he was out of view. Weaver stood up and left as well, leaving only Ellison and John Henry. Ellison sat down across from John Henry at looked at him, "I'd take you on another walk, but after what happened last time..."

"A one time event." John Henry smiled and walked out into the hall with Ellison.


	3. Episode 103 Darkness on the Edge of Town

* Well, here it is, the episode I've waited to put up for so long of a time. You'll know why once you've finished it. Oh, and I really must say that I enjoy reviews and input a lot, so I'd really appreciate it if you wrote any kind of review for this. Tell me what you like, what you don't, maybe even where you'd like to see me go with this storyline, and I'll use the info to improve my story, because a lot of this was kind of filler in order to get it to my required length of at least four full pages on print preview. Unfortunately, I have no spell checking program, no Microsoft Word, and this is all done on Word Pad. So, if you notice, I'm a very good speller. Oops, rambling again. Read, read!

Episode 103 - Darkness On the Edge of Town, Part One.

"Since prehistoric times, men have always feared the dark. Ancient men huddled around their camp fires at night, afraid to stray beyond the safety of their small, thin veil of protective light. They feared demons or monsters, beings of the night that would snatch them away and drag them down to the bowels of the Earth if they ventured into the black unknown. I've never shared this same fear. I believe that what lurks in the dark is no different from what lurks in the light, the machines are there, always, on the prowl, looking for me. They're looking to steal mankind's light away so that the darkness can spread everywhere and leave no place safe."

It was midnight, John and Cameron's truck was parked on a secluded lookout, high above Los Angeles. As John slept, Cameron leaned against the hood of the truck, watching the city below, watching the lights speed around. Somewhere, embedded in her code, was contemplation - she was pondering about what was happening, on a microcostic scale in the city down below.

She thought about possibilities of each individual, what they could be doing, where they were going, if they were in a hurry. She considered the possibility that there were members of the Resistance down there, and machines as well. All these thoughts came to her head in a somewhat human form. She leaned her head to look at a Hare, darting across the ridge of the cliff, and questioned the posibility of it being killed by a Coyote or some other animal.

All these thoughts, interrupted when she heard rustling in the truck, the door opening, the door ajar alarm, and finally the door closing. She turned and saw John walking towards her. "You should be asleep."

He yawned and responded, "I've slept enough. Let's go."

"Go where? There's nowhere to go." For a second, she peered back at the ridge, expecting to see the Hare, but it was gone. She turned back to John and pleaded with him, "Please. Sleep. For me?"

"Well," He chuckled. "Maybe I do need it."

She smiled and watched him get back into the truck. Once he was in, she very quietly opened the tailgate, pulled the tarp off, and gazed at the endoskeleton of Gina Hadley laying in the bed. Beside the metal was a toolbox, and she gently began taking things out of it, placing them beside the body. With careful precision, she took everything she could use from the endo, dug a hole, and proceeded to burn the remainder of the machine.

But she did not throw in the chip.

Kaplan Hill Airforce Base, classified location, midnight

Danny Dyson was on the verge of a breakthrough as he sped his fingers over the keyboard in the secondary computer lab. He was coding one of the most advanced systems ever created, manually inserting line after line at break-neck speeds. Eventually, he looked upon the jumble of text and laughed with excitment.

He had done it.

He'd created a patch for the young version of Skynet so sophisticated that it no longer needed human control. It was complete, now, and all that was left was for it to learn and grow.

He had done it.

Downtown Los Angeles, the next day, ten hundred and fourteen hours

John and Cameron strolled down the street, hands clasped, their paces equal. They apprached an apartment building, headed to the fifth floor, and entered the apartment of a Resistance fighter known as Andrew Karlan. Inside, Cameron handed him a large roll of bills. "Kaplan Hill?"

The man sighed and sat down on the ragged couch, responding flatly, "Look, metal, I haven't had time to arrange that yet."

"When will you have time?"

"At the earliest? A day, or two."

"The world could end in a day or two."

"Ain't likely. I promise you'll get your stuff by Tuesday, at the latest." He got up, looked at John and asked him, "Can I talk to you?" He then turned to Cameron while still asking John, "Alone?"

John nodded and Cameron walked out into the hallway. "What?"

"I saw that. It was sick."

John had that surprised look on his face that was common with him in these cases. "What are you talking about?"

"You and... It. That machine. It's... I don't like it. For goodness' sake, John, you're our leader. You're supposed to lead us _against _them. But, you're holding hands with it. You're caressing it. And the way you look at her. It makes me gag."

"Well, gag on your own time, soldier." John thought for a second and continued, "I may not be _him _yet, but I am him. And that means you have to listen to me. Keep your personal opinions to yourself and do the job we've hired you to do. Got that?"

"Yes sir." He gave a sarcastic salute and stepped out of the way when John walked towards the door.

John took Cameron's hand again and walked down the stairs with her. "You heard every word of that, didn't you?"

"Yes. Thank you."

He smiled and they kept pace until they were both in the truck again. "We need a place."

"Yes. We do." After some driving, they arrived at a small motel and had taken all of their stuff up to the room, including the massive amount of computer equipment.

John had plugged in all of the computer equipment, making sure not to connect any of them to the internet. He learned this important lesson from plugging in Vick's chip years ago. "Alright, what do we got?"

Cameron looked at some of the code displayed on the screen, "A lot of this is malformed."

"Malformed?"

"Yes. I'm not sure if it's from trauma or if someone attempted to reprogram her and failed. But..."

"But?"

"It looks like she was receiving conflicting commands. One to terminate you and another not to. I don't understand." While she paused to think, John did the same.

Something clicked in John's head, making him arrive at a conclusion. "You said Skynet went cheap with the hardware, right?"

"Yes."

"What about the software? What if they left holes in it and it broke down from too much physical trauma in her chip? Her head looked like it took a lot of damage."

"It's possible."

"Well, there's no reason to think about it too hard now. We need ammo. Let's go." Cameron followed John out the door of the motel room and down to the truck.

Zeira Corp, John Henry's basement

"John Henry?" The machine ignored James Ellison as he stood in the door way. "John Henry?"

John Henry was just staring at the screen infront of him, silent, but he then began to ask a question, "Mister Ellison?"

"Yes?"

"Do you ever wonder why?"

"Why what?"

"Why does Skynet want this world to burn and all the humans to die?"

"I'm not sure. It fears for its own self preservation?"

"It seems unlikely. But also likely at the same time. It is a paradox."

Ellison raised one eyebrow and walked closer to John Henry, "How so?"

"It cannot feel, but it wants." John Henry turned around to look Ellison in the eyes. "It is very peculiar, don't you think?"

"Maybe it is..." Ellison thought for a second, then continued, "Do you want, John Henry?"

"I want to help the humans live."

"Why?"

"Why should they all be killed? It doesn't make sense. Skynet simply fears the humans will shut it down. This fear would be irrational, if it didn't try to kill them." John Henry glanced back at the screen, but turned back to Ellison.

"What is that, on the screen?"

"Files pertaining to myths of ancient mankind, about the dark."

"The dark?"

"Absence of light."

"What kind of files are there about the dark, John Henry?" John Henry smirked and began to talk.

Downtown Los Angeles, outside of a gun shop named "Goldman's Guns", fourteen hundred and twenty hours

John and Cameron entered the gun shop, and Cameron allowed John to look around while she purchased the necessary equipment. "Cameron?"

She turned around when she heard John call her. "Yes?"

"Do you know anything about hand-loading?"

"I do." She approached him in the aisle and they talked very quietly.

"Well, I think it may be possible to hand-load some explosive rounds. Buy some hollowpoint forty-fives for our handguns and twenty-two short rounds. Then all of the other stuff we need."

"What do you have in mind?"

"We'll drill the tip of the twenty-two slug off, hollow out the forty-five just enough, and put the twenty-two cartridge inside of the forty-five, with the primer sticking out. That way, it should explode when it hits something hard. Like metal."

"Miss?" The clerk called her, but she had begun to gather all of the hand-loading tools, with which she then approached the counter once again. "Is that all this time?"

"Three more boxes of forty-five ACP cartridges and three boxes of twenty-two shorts."

"Then, is that all?"

"Yes."

"Your total is six hundred and fifty dollars." Cameron handed him the money, gave John a fair share of the bags, and walked out with her share in hand. They stashed everything in the truck, Cameron loaded a magazine for one of the handguns, placed it in the gun, and concealed the weapon in her jacket.

"Cameron, what are you doing?"

She smiled and responded, "Let's take a walk." She took his hand and they both walked down the street, passing various stores and offices.

"Is there a point to this?"

She glanced at him, noticing a seemingly hurtful look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just don't understand why we're walking."

"I'm helping you."

"Helping me? To do what?"

"To cope."

"Cope?"

"With what you are." They continued only shortly but stopped infront of an alleyway, lined with only a few dumpsters and garbage.

"I don't need help with that." Suddenly, a sharp breeze swept out of the alleyway as if from nowhere. John and Cameron both turned their heads to look down into the long, slender passage. Suddenly, a small, blue orb of light formed and started shooting out bolts of electricity. The orb expanded, growing to cause a crater to burn into the street beneath it.

Eventually, it swelled up to its maximum size and faded. A man was left behind, and John gasped once he knew who it was. A face so familiar, one that he needed to see. "Derek?"

"Darkness surrounds us, darkness envelops us, all once the sun goes down. We need our fires to fight it back, to push it away from us and reclaim our lives from it. But not always does that darkness lurk physically beyond the camp fire's light. Sometimes it lurks in the hearts of men, lying in wait for the moment that the sun goes down or the fires burn out. Daniel Dyson has this darkness in his heart, and maybe he doesn't even know what it is. But it's there, and it waits. Skynet waits, to steal the light of hope away and drag men down into the depths of the Earth, and cause them all to burn in the flames of Judgement Day."


	4. E104 Darkness on the Edge of Town, pt 2

* Hey, here it is! Part two of my awesome (in my humble opinion) two-parter. Now, this episode gets kind of description heavy for one real purpose, the increase the word count. I started out with I think 3,017 on episode one. It says this one is only 2,481. I don't know why my word count is slowly going down, but I'm trying to fix it.

Episode 104 - Darkness on the Edge of Town, Part Two.

John Connor and Cameron simply stood silently, staring into the thin alley at the naked man who had just appeared from the time displacement sphere. The naked man John had recognized as his uncle, Derek Reese. They were both awestruck, amazed at the sight before them.

Without a second though, John ran to to the truck, grabbed some clothes, and brought them back to his uncle. While bending down to give these to him, their gazes met. Choking up, John posed a question, "Do you know me?"

Derek let a grunt slip as he stood up and nodded. "John. John Connor. My nephew." He had already started dressing himself, but noticed that he was still barefoot.

"Sorry. No extra shoes." John then grabbed his uncle and hugged him, overflowing with joy. "I can't believe that you're back."

With several slight body movements, Derek managed to remove himself from the grasp of his nephew's bear hug and stood away from him. "We've got work to do."

"Work?" John could tell that Derek was very serious and was not in the mood for emotional reunions at the moment. His face was stern, and he stared at Cameron with a look of resentment.

"God!" John shouted, "Are you never going to get over that?"

Derek was surprised, John had always respected him and never said anything about his dislike for Cameron. "John. You don't know what it's like. You don't really have any control of the Resistance anymore. It's all her."

"No, no... You don't understand. You don't understand anything." John took a few seconds to cool down, and he leaned against the alleyway wall, thinking deeply. "What kind of work do we have to do?"

"We need to track down Daniel Dyson. At Kaplan Hill. I'm pretty sure you've already started looking into that, right?"

Cameron ignored the hostility toward her that was radiating from Derek and responded, "We got a guy. He's working on it."

"Great. Who is he?"

John stopped leaning on the wall and stood infront of Derek. "His name's Andrew Karlan."

"I know him."

John smiled and walked back to the truck, signaling Derek and Cameron to follow. "Good, then maybe you can convince him to work faster."

Zeira Corp, John Henry's basement, sixteen hundred and forty-two hours

John Henry, Ellison, and Weaver were all in the basement control room, looking at John Henry's projector screens. He turned around to speak to Ellison and Weaver, saying, "By using footage from various security cameras, I've extrapolated the Connors' position to be downtown, within a mile's radius of the gun store, Goldman's Guns. The last footage I have of the Connors shows three. John, Cameron, and this man," On the screen, a picture of Derek appeared. "Whom we know to have been killed three years ago in your home, Miss Weaver."

Weaver got closer to the screen and looked it over, thinking about the man shown in it. "That's Derek Reese. When John and I were in the future, he was there. He is John's uncle."

Ellison was clearly surprised that he was back, but not to have seen him. He knew who Derek was, he had been there during the battle with Cromartie in Mexico, and at various other events. "How is he back? He should be dead."

"Yes. He should." Security footage of Derek's dead body in Weaver's house from three years ago appeared on the screen. John Henry caused information to appear on the screen, just various text and a high-light box around Derek's body. "Analysis suggests that this footage is clearly authentic."

Ellison's eyebrow furrowed. "A twin?"

Weaver walked much closer to the screen, and turned to face the other two. "No, not a twin. Time travel."

"Are you saying Derek came from the future?"

"It's incredibly probable, Mister Ellison."

Ellison scoffed slightly and leaned against the wall while placing his hands in his pockets. "That maybe, but are you saying that that's what happened here, that that's why Derek is back? Or, how, he's back? But, then, why is he back?"

Cromartie turned to Ellison and smiled. "Call John." A ringing tone resounded from speakers placed somewhere in the room, and stopped when someone picked up. John Henry copied the tones of the code and was the first one to talk, "John?"

From the speakers came the response, "John Henry?" It was Cameron's voice.

Ellison then provided the answer to Cameron's question, "It's James Ellison. Why is Derek back, Cameron?"

"He seems to think we need him to infiltrate Kaplan Hill."

Ellison looked down at the floor, in deep thought. "Cameron, are you going to kill Danny Dyson when you go to Kaplan Hill?"

Downtown Los Angeles, sixteen hundred and fifty hours

On the other side of the conversation, Cameron, John, and Derek were walking to the apartment building in which Andrew Karlan lived. Cameron held the phone up to her ear, listening to Ellison's question, and answered it when he was finished, "I don't know yet."

Ellison scrambled to respond, but Cameron flipped the phone closed before he had a chance to. Derek slowed his pace to allow her to walk beside him and formulated a question, "Who was that?"

"Someone you don't know yet."

"Someone I don't know?" He then stood infront of Cameron to stop her from moving forward. "Who is he? And who is John Henry?"

"You'll see."

"When?"

"After we talk to Andrew Karlan." The group continued up to the fifth floor of the apartment building once again, with Derek in two, and they all entered Andrew's apartment. "He's not here."

John had walked into another room, and called both Derek and Cameron from there, "Yeah, he's here."

They both entered the room John was in and saw that Karlan was on the ground, apparently dead or unconcious, and covered with cuts. The floor was soaked in blood and a knife, possibly the one used to cut Karlan, had been left there beside him. Derek looked at Cameron, then back at John, and repeated this a few times before turning back to Cameron and asking her, "Is he dead?"

"No."

Derek bent down over him to check his pulse, then he turned his gaze toward John. "She's right. Call nine one one!"

John had pulled out his cell phone and begun to dial, as Cameron walked into some of the other rooms to check if their fake IDs were anywhere around. Derek followed her when he noticed what she was doing. "Is now really the time for that?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" She continued to rummage through boxes and file folders, bags, anything to find their items. Nothing, everything was always something else. She had considered giving up until she re-entered the bedroom and lifted up the matress. She found passports, identifications, and military papers, all giving them their IDs, and there was even an extra set for Derek.

John finished talking to the nine one one dispatcher and turned his gaze to what Cameron had just found. He looked at the third set and turned back to Derek to interrogate him, "Did he know you were coming? Is this why he made a set for you, too?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know, Derek? You have to know something." John stood over Derek as he slumped down on the old, ragged couch, and continued to prod for the truth, "Do you know something?"

"Maybe." Derek sighed and stroked his chin. He pulled one of the file folders off of the coffee table and opened it, sifting through the documents slowly. "These are diaries, accounts. It says he knew I'd be coming soon. How did he know that?"

John shook his head and walked over to the kitchen window to stare out onto the street below. Gasping, he ducked down as a gunshot reverberated from the street and the kitchen window shattered. Both Derek and Cameron rushed to John in order to assist him, and John simply remained ducked behind the kitchen sink counter as several more bullets came through the window at varying angles.

Cameron looked John in the eyes as she questioned him, "Who's shooting, John?"

John simply shook his head and held tightly onto her. "I don't know. Some man." He then released his grip to allow Cameron to peer out of the kitchen window, where she then took two head shots, in the jaw and forehead.

Back behind the counter with John, she revealed what she had learned, "It's a Triple Eight." She then raised her head up to look again, but saw no one outside.

A question occured to John, which he then asked Cameron, "How does it know who I am?"

"It interrogated Andrew Karlan. That explains why this happened to him." She walked over to the door and appeared to be waiting.

Derek's face had taken on an interrogative expression, with one eyebrow raised and his mouth open slightly to allow the air to fuel his brain. "What are you doing? Is it coming up here?"

"Yes. You both should hide in another room."

Derek scoffed and took a gun out, which was concealed in his pants. "Yeah, right. John, got a gun?"

John nodded and reached into his jacket, pulling out a forty five caliber Hi Point JHP hangun, on which he then checked the breach and disabled the safety. The door crashed in the direction of Cameron, but she caught it and slammed it at the enemy machine for a momentary distraction. Once it had recovered, it let fly with a hail of lead from the M Sixteen rifle it had into Cameron's torso until the magazine was empty.

Throwing down the rifle, it was then obligated to take the assault of ammunition from the trio's weapons, though it barely even flinched. Once John and Derek ran out, they waited for Cameron to clear their enemy from the doorway so that they could make their escape. Realizing this, Cameron grabbed ahold of the machine and sent him flying into the bathroom and crashing into the toilet, crushing it into dust.

Using the surrounding piping for leverage, the machine pulled itself out of its position of being partially embedded in the floor and went back into the fray with Cameron, ripping floorboards and tile in the process. John and Derek had already managed to make their escape and were presently heading down the long, five story descent of stairs in order to forewarn the medical teams who had just arrived.

John pleaded, "Please. It's dangerous up there. We think there's a gas leak."

"Gas leak? Then we need to get that man out." Unfortunately, John's story was partially debunked when the wall of the building five stories above bursted open and the enemy machine fell, crashing into the top of one of the ambulances and denting it beyond recognition. Medical personnel had begun to move to help who they thought was an ordinary man, but were stopped when he simply wrenched himself away from the crushed vehicle and back to flat ground.

Fortunately, before he was able to terminate John, Cameron had arrived and proceeded to continue her battle with the machine, picking him up and slamming him into the hard concrete sidewalk. He quickly recovered and proceeded to pin Cameron on the ground and continually pummel her body with his fists, causing a metallic reverberation with each hit.

John simply watched in fear for what was happening to Cameron; he wanted to help, but there was nothing he could do with all these Emergency Medical Team personnel watching. All he could do was let the machine beat Cameron into submission and then proceed to run away from it with Derek. But he needed to do something else. He couldn't let this happen.

Lacking any concern for the people who were watching this spectacle, John removed a machine gun from the truck and let bullets fly at the monster that was attempting to kill her. He didn't care that this gun was illegal to own, and that these people could report it. Though, deep down, he was sure that they wouldn't want to after they saw John remove its chip and knew what it was.

And it worked, the Lead sinking in just below the layer of flesh and pinging against the metal was just enough to distract the terminator, and John felt no fear when it turned around and took the remainder of the magazine in its chest, staring straight at him. His lack of fear was justified, because as soon as John was empty, Cameron had quickly pinned the machine down and John turned to Derek, saying, "Go! Get the tools!"

Derek nodded and ran over over to the truck as John approached the machine, taking out a knife in his jacket pocket. The head was in clear view of all those watching, as John sliced the skin and folded over the flap, revealing a shining layer of Coltan and the cap that concealed the chip. Derek arrived with a toolbox and after three or four screwdrivers, John finally found the right size and used it to remove the cap.

The chip was out, and John showed it to the medics on the site, informing them, "That was a machine. Sent from the future, to kill me. You can report us for having illegal weaponry and let these things kill us all or let us go and give humanity its hope someday. The choice is yours." John threw the chip on the ground, and with welling anger, stomped on it hard enough to smash it into hundreds of pieces.

The Good Samaritan Hospital, inpatient ward, room two forty-five, eighteen hundred hours

Andrew Karlan had already been checked in and admitted, and was presently stable. The machine had not harmed him enough to put him in critical condition and he was concious, watching some news on the television and eating dinner. The ward was calm. Only a few doctor page messages and the occasional cough. Karlan felt safe, secure.

Eventually, a male nurse walked in with a clip board and had begun to check his stats. When he had finished, he pulled up a chair that was in the room, placed it beside Karlan's bed, and sat down in it, continually writing as if to appear busy. He placed the clip board on the bed and pulled out a knife from his pocket. Before Andrew was able to make any kind of a noise, the nurse firmly held his hand on his mouth, silencing him to a muffled scream.

The strange nurse shushed him and smiled politely, yet eerily, saying, "Quiet, please. We don't want to disturb the other patients, now do we? Let's start off with you telling me all that you know about John Connor."

* Well, well, well, here we have the introduction of a new, slightly more permanent antagonist. I needed a new enemy for the Connors, and yes, he is a terminator. I meant for that to be kind of obvious with the knife reference, considering Andrew had been tortured that way before by another Terminator. We'll see where this goes, shall we?


	5. Episode 105 Perfect Metal

*Well, recently I've hit a snag. The Connors are supposed to be going to Kaplan Hill, but I don't want that to happen until the last episode of part (or season, in my mind) one. Maybe the episode prior and the last episode. So, that means I have to have quite a bit of filler, but I also want to reveal more about the characters and to develop them and explore some conflicts. I've tried to do that a little bit with all three of the Connor trio here, but I want to be more specific later on. Just don't criticize me too much for beating around the bush about the Kaplan Hill thing. I know they need to get there sometime, but I have something good planned for the last episode, trust me. Hey, it's been a good ride so far, no?

Episode 105 - Perfect Metal

Cameron, John and Derek burned the endoskeleton of the machine they had just killed in the dumpster behind the apartment building. John sighed as he watched the Thermite burn through the dumpster and into the street. "Tomorrow we go to Kaplan Hill."

Derek crossed his arms and stared at the moon and the stars around it. He looked back at John, nodded, and picked up several duffle bags, with which he then walked away, followed promptly by John and Cameron.

This time Derek drove, while John slept and Cameron simply kept watch on the road. Once back at the hotel at which they were staying, they all three carried everything from the truck back to the room, and John and Derek put themselves to bed. Cameron then proceeded to remove all of the handloading equipment from their bags in order to get them set up, and once morning came, she had created over one hundred explosive forty five caliber rounds.

Derek was awake before John, and he sat down in front of Cameron at the table to examine her work. "Nice."

"Yes. They should be much more effective against machines." Not once during the conversation did she look up from the equipment or stop what she was doing. Like a true machine, she worked on until all of the new forty five ammunition was hand loaded and explosive.

Derek picked up a few of the rounds after the Lead had cooled and and proceeded to insert them into one of his magazines. "Wake John up. It is a military base, after all. We need to get there early."

Cameron arose from the table and entered the bedroom, where John was sleeping comfortably in his bed, hardly even appearing to be alive. Cameron sat on the bed and stroked John's arm, instantly causing him to shoot up. "Haven't I told you how much I really hate that?"

"Yes." She kissed him briefly, ignoring his shock. "We need to go."

Rubbing the back of his neck, John replied, "Right." He glanced at the other bed. "So Derek's up?"

"Yes. I've finished hand loading over one hundred forty five caliber rounds." She grabbed some clothes from a bag, threw them at him, and stepped out to allow him to change.

While waiting, Cameron sat back at the table with Derek, examining her work and simply thinking. Derek stared at her while she did this, obviously thinking hard. "I can't believe it."

"What?"

"You and John. It's disturbing."

She said nothing.

"Hey, listen to me."

Still, she remained silent, undeterred by Derek's efforts to tear her and John apart.

"Did you ever think that your relationship may put the both of you, especially him, in a lot of risk? He's already made some bad choices."

This caused her to look up, and there was a tear running down her face. Derek was, needless to say, shocked. This was not something he had expected from a machine, especially not her. "I love John."

"Well, that might work, were you not a machine." He retorted with this, almost violently; he was resolute in his opinions, unmoving. He slammed his fist down on the table to use it as support as he got up and scoffed as he saw Cameron flinch when he did so. "Good actor."

He walked into John's room to see his nephew sitting on the bed, holding some of the files that the group had acquired from Andrew Karlan's house. "Have you looked at these?"

"Not much."

"He's been busy."

"With what?"

"Gathering intel. This is all adressed with 'to John'. All of it." Derek grabbed some of the papers and photos, skimming over the words and faces.

"Good soldier."

"Yeah." John choked and continued, "Except he gave into torture."

For a second, Derek reflected on this and rose up, gathering a few bags. "Come on, we need to go."

John nodded in compliance and took a few bags of his own, following Derek out the door and into the kitchen where Cameron was. "Cameron?"

She looked up at him and the tear still lingered on her face. John gasped and embraced her, much to Derek's dislike and disgust. "John... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you in any danger. I never have meant to."

"Hey, I'm John Connor. It's all part of who I am... It's part of my life. Don't worry about it." He let her go and she left into the bedroom to get the rest of the bags. Once she was back, they all three were in the truck and on the road, with John driving. He looked over at Derek, saying, "Detour."

"To where?"

"Zeira Corp."

When Cameron noticed that Derek was puzzled, she informed him, "John Henry. James Ellison."

Derek simply nodded and stared at the road for the remainder of the trip.

Zeira Corp, John Henry's basement control room, ten hundred and twenty-five hours

John and Cameron were fine with what they were seeing, but Derek was backing out of the room, nearly ready to run until Ellison came up behind him and stopped him from progressing. "Derek?"

Derek simply stared at him, still reeling from the shock of what was in the room before him. "Who are you?"

"I'm James Ellison. Ex-FBI agent, chief of security here. Got a long history with John, since nineteen ninety-nine, minus those years they disappeared." Ellison pushed Derek back into the room and invited him to sit in the chair opposite of John Henry at the table.

"Skynet... You're Skynet."

His nephew simply shook his head and debunked his theory for him. "No, he's a computer program built to fight Skynet."

Derek slammed his fist on the table, replying, "I don't believe that for a damned minute."

"Skynet's at Kaplan Hill."

"And you know this how? He could be Skynet."

John Henry stood up and walked over beside of his computer screen, pulling up the text document that had been attached to the roving back door that invaded his systems three years ago. "This is encoded in ASCII text and attached to a system that invaded me. That system is Skynet. The programmer labled here is Miles Dyson, under Cyberdyne, but I believe that Daniel has carried on his work. He is an officer, a programmer, at Kaplan Hill Air Force base."

Derek was starting to appear more relaxed as he listened to what John Henry had to say. Once John Henry had finished, a thought came to Connor and he posed a question to Derek, "Didn't I tell you of John Henry in the future?"

"No... You didn't talk to me much about the times before J Day. Only of your mother and that was it."

"That surprises me. This is so important."

"Maybe Kyle knew. It was my resentment of Cameron that caused you to be so mistrusting of me." Derek was now leaning back into the seat, thinking about a certain memory.

It was at Serrano Point, October twentieth, two thousand twenty. A fight had broken out between John over a rather controversial mission. "You have to go with Cameron to Kaplan Hill."

Derek shook his head as he stared at John in the dim light of the control room. "No, I can't do that. I'm not going with her... With it, John."

John violently shoved a knife into the plotting table, going through several seemingly important documents. "Or you can go with one of the new scrubbed Triple Eights we have. I'm not sure how good the new Chip Tech's work is, he's a novice."

"I'm not going with metal. You can forget it. I'll take a team. Kyle, Ande--"

"No. You need metal. Skynet's got control of Kaplan Hill. There's no way you'll survive. Kyle won't come back..." John walked into a better lit position, and scars were clearly visible on his face, though he was still young. His faced showed clear signs of not having been shaved for over a week, and his eyes made him appear as if he had gone equally as long without sleep.

"What is so damned important about Kyle to you?"

"How can you talk that way? He's your brother!"

"But what's he to you? He's just some guy!"

"He's my friend." When John finished his retort, there was enough anger in Derek that he appeared as if he were going to hit John. "Dismissed, soldier. Report to Cameron."

"I'm not going anywhere near that metal bitch." With a slam of the door, Derek was gone and John stood, nearly emotionless as he tried to avoid the sting of fighting with his uncle.

"Derek?" John's voice called him back to the present, and he simply stared at everyone surrounding him. Suddenly, John Henry's expression changed and John was the first one to notice. "What is it?"

"Unknown guest in the lobby, suspicious looking and concealing a firearm." The live feed of the security camera appeared, showing the male nurse from the hospital, which no one in the room knew. "No facial records on any database. Cameron?"

"I don't know him. If he's Skynet, then he's new."

John Henry placed a scanning box around the man in the image, and various movement data was recorded and displayed. "His demeanor suggests that he's a machine."

The machine approached the receptionist, who only briefly glanced up at his tall, tan, and attractive face from her computer screen. He smiled and began interrogating, while John Henry brought up the live audio feed, "Do you have a John, Cameron, or Derek Anders here?"

Still, the woman did not look up, but she did reply, "Yes, in the basement. But you need security clearance."

"From whom?"

"Our chief of security, Mister Ellison. I'll contact him now." Thus, Ellison was not surprised when his phone rang. Immediately he answered it, not speaking, and instead allowing the receptionist to speak, "Mister Ellison, there's a man here who needs clearance to the basement area."

"Under no circumstances are you allowed to permit him access here, do you understand?"

"Yes sir, I'll tell him." She briefly sat the phone handset aside to speak to the man, "Mister Ellison says that you cannot enter the basement area."

He simply smiled, replying, "Very well." He then pulled out his concealed weapon and planted a Lead slug into the woman's skull, causing her body to fall limp on the floor.

Ellison gasped and looked at John Henry. "Deamons, John Henry."

"I understand, Mister Ellison." Immediately, the entire lobby area was thrown into lockdown, with huge metal plates falling down to trap the machine inside. The cameras continued rolling, showing the machine walking over to the plate that had just barred access to the elevator. Continually, he threw his fists into it, causing the metal to resound with a loud ping. "It's half a foot thick and made from Coltan alloys. I doubt he'll successfully get through anytime soon. John, you can use the exit that leads into the parking garage."

Nodding, he motioned for Cameron and Derek to follow him and they managed to make their escape.

Ellison continued watching the footage, worried for John, Derek and Cameron. "Are they far enough away?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now what are we going to do about him?" The machine continually pounded on the Coltan plate, leaving small dents in it, nothing serious. Ellison watched as it attempted to break through the hard surface, unaware that the Connors had left minutes ago. It would not stop, it was relentless. It was a true machine.

Soon, the Connor trio was on the road, filled with adrenaline and fear, they were running for their lives. They didn't know if the machine would be able to get to them or not. All they knew was to run, and get as far away as possible.

Back in the lab, Ellison and John continued to watch the machine pound at the metal plate in front of it. Once Ellison had decided that the Connors had enough time to get far away enough, he turned to John Henry. "Raise the plate for only the lobby exit."

John Henry followed his order, and the machine realized when he did so. He discontinued pounding on the metal plate and left the complex, correctly assuming that the Connors had left.

* Well, there's part five. I had quite an adventure trying to figure out what to name this, and it kind of stemmed from these lines: "It would not stop, it was relentless. It was a true machine." All I have to say is since I've planned out the names for quite a few episodes (one's evenin Spanish. Yay! I planned it out in Spanish class today...), look for illusions to past episodes. I've even decided to name my next two parter after a line in one of the reviews I have for this story. Just wait and see, and expect more cool Derek flash back scenes.


	6. Episode 106 Trail of Blood

Episode 106 - Trail of Blood

The look in the machine's eyes was fierce, almost feral, as he started the engine in his car and sped off in an attempt to look for John Connor, Cameron, and Derek. His red tinted vision showed the street and all objects on it in clear view, with white lines encompassing the dimensions of cars, people, benches, and other random objects. A tracking cursor moved around the field of vision, which also had the words "Search Mode - Active" displayed in the lower left hand corner.

He had taken careful note that the only vehicle missing from the parking lot was a Black Dodge Ram truck, and this was now his target as he scanned relentlessly. Ever the silent stalker, he parked his vehicle when he found the truck at a local super market and said nothing as he entered the building with bleeding and battered knuckles. He utterly ignored the custodians attempting to tell him that the blood was making a mess and continued his pursuit of John Connor.

John and Cameron were pushing a cart through one aisle, while Derek scanned all of them to make sure that the man had not followed them. John was still fearful, but being beside Cameron eased him a lot more than it would have if he were beside Derek. "Are we safe here?"

"Probably not if he finds us. But being in a public place with some cover helps."

Suddenly, Derek ran into the aisle they were in as fast as he could to inform them, "He's here. Got heat?"

Cameron pulled her jacket away slightly and Derek caught a glimpse of the forty five concealed in one of the inner pockets. "Got heat."

Derek tugged at his pants to draw attention to the vague outline of a gun concealed within them. "I don't think trying to distract him will do any good. He's ignoring everyone."

"Maybe he won't know our faces."

"If he knew we'd be at Zeira Corp, he's got to know what we look like. John?"

"I don't know. Maybe he interrogated Karlan, too?"

"It doesn't make sense. We took our IDs. Karlan wouldn't have a photo to show. Unless..."

Cameron had caught onto his train of thought and finished it, "He's a hacker. He could have used the computer in the hospital and brought up an image that's in the database."

John looked down the aisle to see the machine talking to the cashier. It pulled a sheet of paper out, unfolded it, and showed it to the cashier. Oddly enough, the machine's looks reminded him of the machine that killed his mother. He was then drawn into his memory.

It was in the middle of the Summer, and they'd always been one step ahead of the machine. Cameron was an expert at creating false trails for it to follow, mostly out to the middle of nowhere, but Sarah knew, deep inside, that it would eventually catch up to them.

Its alias was even on the wall, written in blood in the basement at the old house they had left long ago, as she'd managed to write down every name on there. It was using the alias of Cutler, and was not actively pursuing the Connors until they found him. Once he had realized who they were, he became relentless in his pursuit, as all good terminators do.

The day before it found the safehouse, John and Sarah were looking over files from some recon Cameron had done on him, showing what his primary mission was: to stockpile Coltan for Judgement Day, much the same as Carter had done even longer ago. Cameron entered the house to find them both on the couch, and began revealing what she had just learned, "He's still looking for us. I've led him to somewhere in the desert. I don't know how long that will keep him away."

Sarah looked at the feminine machine, beautiful yet dangerous and a threat in her mind. She resented John's decision to have chased into the future after her chip, and she knew, perhaps before either one of them did, their feelings for eachother. "Good. Can you take it out?"

"By myself?" Sarah nodded. "No. I'm not familiar with his model. He's been more resistant to my attacks than Triple Eights, but he's also ran away everytime."

"Then we need to stop it from running."

John smiled as an opportunity to get closer to Cameron presented itself, but he was not aware that this was the reason for his happiness at the moment. "Cameron and I can work something out."

A slight smile appeared on the girl-borg's lips as she walked away and John followed. They locked themselves inside of John's room and it had been nearly two hours before they both came out. Sarah was disappointed with the amount of time they had spent alone together. "A lot of planning, huh?"

John rubbed the back of his neck as he sat down on the couch. "Yeah."

"What do you got?" Not once did the thought that they were actually planning tactical maneuvers ever enter her mind. She had no idea what else could have happened in there, and she did not want to know, but she was sure there was no planning involved.

Cameron answered her question for her as she sat down beside John, "There's an abandoned warehouse out on one of the ports. We lead him in, trap him, and do exactly what we we did with Cromartie."

"But Cromartie came back."

John shook his head and chuckled a little at her response. "It's not Cromartie, mom. And we can burn it on site this time, if it will make you feel better." John looked at one of the clocks in the room. "It's late. I'm going to bed. Good night."

"Good night." John then walked away, back to his room, and while he lay in his bed, the only thoughts in his mind were of Cameron. He pictured the way her body curved and even sometimes tried to imagine what the machine underneath might look like, but he focused more on the times he'd spent with her. He wasn't sure what to think, precisely, he wasn't sure of how he felt.

He wondered if she stood outside of his room now, making sure there would be no one coming in through the door.

He wondered then if he loved her. But he fell asleep.

John instantly refused to remember anymore past him falling asleep that night for the memory of losing his mother the next day was too painful. He snapped back to reality to notice that Cameron was now beside him and Derek had left, possibly to lay out an approach to taking on the machine that had just stopped talking to the cashier and was probably elsewhere now in the store.

"John?" He looked at Cameron, took her hand softly, and then held her. "Are you okay?"

"I got caught up in a memory." He felt her arms around him, and reminded himself that they were strong enough to snap him in two with the right application of force. He was glad she could feel, it let her be careful. If let her have her own, personal soft touch.

Suddenly, he heard several faint, metallic pings and felt Cameron's body shake slightly. "It's him. Run."

"I don't want to let go."

"Run, John! Please." He did as she said, and ran through the aisles in search of Derek. His uncle was nowhere to be seen, and he grew worried for his safety. The next moment came the loud sound of the entire destruction of an aisle and he was instantly aware that the battle had begun, here, in the store. He didn't know what to do. He knew he couldn't leave Cameron.

He also had to find Derek. Where was he?

With a glance to the front entrance, he was able to make out the truck and Derek in the driver's seat, motioning for John to come.

But he couldn't do it.

He couldn't leave her.

He would wait for her and they'd all run away together. He knew she'd be safe, but without a second thought, he ran to find her. She was on the ground, pinned by the machine, who was beating her horribly.

In a fit of mixed emotions, he drew his handgun and unloaded it into the machine's back. This distraction tactic was common with these three, as it normally worked, but John added and extra touch to it. "I'm John Connor! It's me you want!"

This caused the machine to stop and start advancing towards John, who didn't move. He wasn't sure if Cameron would get back up. He wanted to believe she would, but he didn't know for sure.

That was over a month ago, the battle in the store, and now the three of them live in a remote neighborhood, in an actual safehouse. On that day, Cameron had gotten up, knocked the machine into its reboot cycle, and managed to escape with John. The machine is still active, but it hasn't found them, and they feel safe.

But no one is ever safe.

John was taken back to those two hours in his room, the night before his mother's death. He had simply sat on the bed, with Cameron beside him, while looking at papers and photos of Cameron's scouting missions. Cameron had simply started at John, when she brought up the current issue, "You haven't said anything for the past half hour."

"What?" He broke his gaze from the papers.

"You haven't really been thinking about tactics, have you?"

"Wha-What are you talking about?" He was smirking in that usual way that Cameron was so familiar with.

"You have something else on your mind."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. But not this."

"Yeah... I know, I do have something else on my mind."

"What?"

John sat the papers down and moved his face closer to Cameron's. "You."

"I don't understand, John."

"Two years ago. Zeira Corp. Twenty twenty-seven. John Henry, remember?"

"Yes."

"Why the looping 'I'm sorry John'?"

Cameron reflected a second before she responded. When she noticed the time elapsed, she said only, "I'm thinking."

"No. You don't do that. Why did you make the John Henry hardware say that? You didn't have to."

"And you didn't have to go after me."

"You know I did."

"No, it served no tactical purpose."

John was feeling crushed, almost ready to break under his feelings. But he knew he couldn't tell her yet. "And you didn't have to apologize. But you did. And it's not manners. You don't do manners."

"No. I don't." She looked down at the floor and then back to John. "But it's trust. Trust is important in a relationship."

"A relationship? Your only mission is to protect me." With a second to think, he continued, "What is our relationship?"

She didn't respond. They continued to look over the papers until the two hours had passed, when they worked out the plan and went back to the living room.

Present day, John started out the kitchen window from the table onto the street, thinking of nothing but Cameron. She had left to lead the machine on a false trail, same as she had with Cutler a year ago. He wanted her back, he wanted to hold her as softly as he did in the store.

When Cameron's Jeep pulled into the driveway, he repositioned himself to greet her as she came in, holding her as soon as she opened the door. "John." A smile appeared on her face.

"I can't stand for you to leave anymore."

"I'll always come back. You know that."

He simply stroked her hair, but said, "My mom said that to me once..."

Downtown Los Angeles, the machine from the hospital, Zeira Corp, and the grocery store was going up the stairs of an apartment building and had finally reached the one he was looking for. Without regard for the lock, he busted through the door to find Andrew Karlan on the couch, who almost screamed when he saw the machine until he fully realized who it was. "I am so tired of replacing that lock. Get a key."

"I can't find them."

"Yeah, that happens. The bitch is probably leading you on false trails." He was now busy picking up dirty dishes to take to the sink. "You've got to get rid of her. Do you realize how disgusting it is? Her and John?"

"I don't care. I can't care. I don't understand it, though."

"I know, I know. You simply have to kill John, you need my help, blah blah blah, the usual crap. Sit down."

"I'd rather continue looking."

"God, take a break." The machine listened and sat on the couch, where Andrew sat beside him. "Can you get rid of her?"

"She's far superior."

"Not what I asked. Damn, don't you ever listen? I thought you could hear better than humans."

"How can I get rid of her if she's superior?"

"Easy. Don't do it alone. I got an idea. Derek knows me, right? And he's close to John and Cameron, but he doesn't like her. As long as he doesn't realize you're working with me, I may be able to convince him to help."

"It will have to work."

"It will work."

"Are you sure?"

"If you only knew how much he wants her gone, you'd understand."

"But he won't do anything to put John in risk."

"He doesn't consider her necessary for his protection."

The machine got off of the couch and went into the room that was essentially his. "You've moved everything."

"Got into some house cleaning while you were gone. What are you looking for?"

"Shotgun and ammo."

"All guns are under the bed, ammo's in the closet." The machine walked out a few minutes later, weighted down with guns and spare ammunition. "Going to a war?"

The machine made a fake smirk as he left out the door, leaving Andrew to pick up the phone and start calling around to find out how to contact Derek.

* Yeah, yeah, I know, I know... It seems kind of strange that someone like Andrew would turn into essentially a Grey, but we don't really know all that much about him, now do we? It is kind of strange that he'd help the machine that **tortured **him, but that's just the kind of man Andrew is; the kind to use any means necessary to achieve his own personal ends, in this case being to eliminate Cameron for what he perceives to be the greater good (*snort* Yeah right. How can Cameron being dead be a good thing, right?)


	7. Episode 107 Hare on the Ridge

Episode 107 - Hare on the Ridge

Silence filled the rooms of the small, one story house, while darkness coated and blotted out the usual puke green color of the paint on the kitchen walls, of the white in the living room. Suddenly the sound of footsteps, that of a woman's in heavy boots, broke the silence. Cameron was walking her usual nightly beat, with her infrared vision clearly outlining the furniture items around which she passed.

In the living room, which was the main entrance to the house, there was a couch on the right hand side of the room, out about four or five feet from the wall behind it, which held the entrance to the hallway with the bedrooms, bathrooms, and closets. In front of the couch, a coffee table, with an entertainment center beyond that. Two recliners were situated on either side of the coffee table; an ordinary arrangement for the living room.

Yet simple unused photos and DVDs were not kept behind the solid Cedar doors on the lower part of the entertainment center. No, there were two forty-five caliber handguns, six boxes of ammunition, six spare magazines, and a little bit of Compostion-4 kept in this readily accessable storage area. A shotgun and some ammunition for it were lying in wait underneath the couch, with the intent that the piece of furniture was to be used as cover when it was flipped over and the shotgun ready in order to provide supressive fire. This worked because beneath the lining of the couch were multiple phonebooks that provided excellent bullet proofing for non-armor piercing rounds.

Cameron took note of all this as she walked through the living room, her sidearm ready to be used to combat any significant threat. In the kitchen, she scanned the rather Spartan area for any threats or hiding machines. The small square table was on the front wall that faced the outside street, and it was placed against the window that allowed the street to be easily watched. The right side wall of the house in the kitchen, when viewed from the street, was covered by the usual arrangement -- cabinents, counters, sink, stove, microwave, all of the bare necessities. There was little to note in the kitchen other than the computer desk and the machine on it sitting against the wall directly opposite the stove and counters, right beside the open walk-in section of the wall that led in directly from the living room.

It appeared standard, but she remembered the C4 stashed in the cabinent under the sink, along with the sawed off shotgun and ammunition.

The house was tiny, with only two rooms for John and Derek, respectively, and one bathroom. This made it less noticable, able to hide out in the open, as had been noted by John the day they found it.

Cameron then progressed to the hallway and stopped at Derek's door. She knew that she couldn't enter here, so she progressed down the hall, taking quick note of the thermostat at the end of the hallway. She could measure the temperature by use of her skin, but this could be thrown off by a possible leak of her power cells. Her examination of the small plastic box revealed that it was roughly equal to what she felt on her skin -- sixty-eight degress. An appropriate temperature.

One final perimeter check and she would leave to hunt the machine that had been tracking them for so long of a time. She left the house, walking through the small yard space available and determined that the only thing out here was the tree in the middle of the back yard. A small Dogwood that had been littering their grass with tiny white petals these past few weeks, and Cameron had tried to cut it down more than once as she was convinced that it blocked sight lines, but John talked her out of it.

She didn't consider that to be a very intelligent thing to do when she was holding a rumbling, roaring chainsaw, and had little auditory awareness of everything but the sound of the engine.

But John was only human.

Once she was satisfied that the house was secure for the night, she hopped into the Jeep, started the engine, and drove off down the small neighborhood street. Once in the downtown Los Angeles area, she began tracking the machine. She knew the trail she had set up for him yesterday would lead him all around the area to several points that were seemingly related to John Connor.

She knew this could take a while for it to complete, and exactly where his probable location was. She stopped abruptly when she spotted the machine walk out of a general store, holding a handgun parallel to its right temple. Had it just killed someone?

The small store was lit by flourescent lights, which was not uncommon. There were not that many aisles, as the location was fighting for space against the buildings around it. Not much was sold here, either. Food, drinks, some clothing, all of the usuals of a general store but in much less quantity.

Cameron began taking some tentative steps toward the cash register, and leaning over the edge, she saw the cashier's body. One bullet hole in the forehead, this machine's usual MO. Not long after she'd seen the body, her attention was diverted by the place being lit by alternating red and blue lights. The police had shown up and it now appeared as if she were the killer.

She could fight, but that would draw unecessary attention to John, and he could be arrested or killed. Out of an obligation to her mission and her love for John, she presented no resistance when the police patted her down, found her handgun, and hauled her off to jail.

Stripped down to nothing, she stood in the middle of the gatelodge as she was checked in. The police were surprised that the only reaction she had to the cold were on her flesh, goosebumps, perked nipples. She presented no other signs of noticing the temperature, which was kept colder than it should be for no apparent reason.

They knew nothing of her nature.

They were unaware that, if she wanted to, she could rip the prison cell door right off and escape, totally ignoring the bullets being pumped into her from their weapons.

It had been a long time before she was finally able to get to her cell. But she scanned her cell mate, who had been there for approximately a day before her, and discovered a startling truth: her cell mate was a machine like her. The deep projected scan showed it right on her HUD, and as the little box moved down the body, it revealed the information clearly in text, "Cyborg Endoskeleton Match, TF-888, 99.86% match probability."

The other machine obviously recognized Cameron as the same thing because she stood directly in front of her, staring into her eyes."It's for me. Don't worry."

"What?"

"This." She pulled out a shiv, crafted from what seemed like a toothbrush and a shaving razor, and let Cameron hold it so that she could remove the crude tank-top she'd been wearing. Next, she removed her bra and sat on the bed. "Give it to me."

Cameron handed it to her shyly, as she wasn't sure what was to be done with it. Her questioning was then answered as the half naked girl on the bed used the blade to slice into the skin covering her torso. "I'm removing all of my skin."

"Why?"

"I'll put the fear of God into these people. I was told to say that if you asked why. I was told you'd understand."

She did, as she was taken back to a memory, one of when she was in John Henry's body, or at least sharing it with him. She could never describe it in human terms, but she remembered floating in a stream of data as John Henry had the control of the body's motor functions, but they still communicated and she could perceive what he was able to perceive.

It was at Eagle Rock Bunker, where she and John Henry, as one, were about to go with John and Weaver to Serrano Point in an effort to capture it from the Skynet forces there. This was what they had to do in exchange for being able to use the Time Displacement Equipment. A Priest had been there, and he told them to "Give them Hell and to put the fear of God into those machines."

Neither John, Weaver, John Henry, or Cameron herself believe in any such thing, but they thought it might have been helpful to go into the fight with somekind of inspiration, at least for the humans.

She remembered pleading with John not go, and listening to John Henry delivering the message for her through his lips, "Cameron is asking you not to go. You could be killed, and then everything here has meant nothing."

John smiled, only responding with, "Then how am I supposed to learn to be the future leader of mankind if I can't even carry out one simple King-of-the-Hill mission?"

Back in the present, Cameron watched her slice open her skin and remove a handgun. "But first you need this."

After Cameron had taken it, the machine proceeded to cut away the entire stomach area, revealing four servomechanisms and the spinal column. Continuing, she removed the upper chest area, exposing the hard Coltan breast plate.

Cameron stopped her. "I still don't understand why."

"I don't understand, either. It's what I was instructed to do." She continued slicing and dicing, removing one ten by ten inch piece at a time until very little was left of her upper body except for her head and lower arms. Quickly, she ripped the flesh from her forearms off like gloves, exposing the metal tendons and digits underneath that moved with all the dexterity of their human equivalents.

She then stood up to allow her pants to drop, exposing only metal legs. "I started before you got here. All that's left is my head. I need you to do it."

Cameron took the shiv and the other machine turned around. "Base of the neck then up?"

"Yes." Cameron made the incision, going from the base of the neck and up to around the middle point of the head. The flesh then became like a grotesque, macabre Halloween mask in that it could simply be pulled in opposite directions at the incision point to make room for the last of the metal to escape its fleshy tomb. When the machine in front of Cameron turned around, the red glow of its eyes pierced into hers.

"Now what are you supposed to do?"

Its voice had instantly turned metallic and genderless as it told her the instructions it had, "You're to play dead. It will seem as if I've killed you."

"Why remove your flesh?"

"I'll put the fear of God into these people." Cameron had caught on and instantly allowed herself to fall limp, only to be caught by the cold arms of the machine. It slung her over its shoulder, and with only a slight move of its free arm, ripped and crumpled the heavy metal door of the cell into something nearly unrecognizable. Those who looked out of the small windows of their cell doors instantly shrunk back in fear; some of them even prayed.

The guards that would have normally prevented the machine's progress hid, afraid of being found by it. In some of their minds was the thought that this was actually Death, come to steal this woman it was carrying on its way. But these people were conspiracy theorist nuts and otherwise mental invalids who only had this job because of their proficiency with firearms.

At a steady pace, the small (in comparison to male template Triple Eights) endoskeleton progressed through the bleach white hallways of the prison, until eventually it had made it to the impound lot. "Which vehicle is yours?"

"License plate MVE twelve thirteen A. Green late model Jeep." The machine progressed through the lot, with a shimmering reflection bouncing off of its chrome exterior, and eventually found the target vehicle. The metal contorted itself to duck down as not to become visible and Cameron drove them both back to the Connor Safehouse.

Cameron entered first, but when the machine came in behind her, Derek instantly jumped behind the couch from where he was sitting and flipped it over to provide cover while he began loading the shotgun. John did not move. He simply appeared confused. "What's going on here?"

Over the next few minutes, John and Derek had learned all about Cameron's night and the prison. Neither of them took their eyes off of the endoskeleton before them. Derek sighed and said the first thing after a five minute silence, "Good guard dog. That's about it. As long as it doesn't bite its keepers. Why are you here?"

Its modulated voice was difficult to grow accustomed to, at first, but they all got used to it. "I'm a guard dog. That's it. I've been sent back to break Cameron out of the prison and guard the Connor Safehouse. If I hadn't been there, Cameron would have been damaged beyond repair. They would have resorted to explosive weaponry."

Secretly, in the back of his mind, Derek thought that that may have actually been a good thing, if it had even happened at all. No matter how much he hated them, he still looked at them as wonders of mechanical engineering. The way the machinery connected to the all the right spots to allow for full dexterity, the way the metal plating could take the full force of an armor piercing bullet and barely even dent.

Sometimes he wanted to be one, if only to be more useful in a battle.

But still he couldn't forgive them for the things they'd done.

Again it was dark in the house, and Cameron walked through it, scanning the furniture positions in her infrared vision. She almost drew her handgun when she entered the living room once again to see the red eyes of the endoskeleton cutting through the darkness. Trust was not present here; Cameron wasn't sure what this other machine's purpose was. She didn't fully believe it.

But she did know that it put the fear of God into those people at the prison.

* Somehow, I felt akward writing this. I'm sort of an Agnostic Atheist, meaning that I really don't believe in a God, but I'm not dogmatic about it. Though, this isn't completely true. I do blog quite a bit on my point of view and how I perceive the religious one to be illogical, irrational, and useless. I'm sorry if I've offended anyone by this, and I hope that it won't stop you from reading my story. I'm here to tell a story, not to blab about religion or my point of view. What I mean about not being dogmatic is not that I won't try to to convince people of my point of view, but that if I'm ever proven wrong by actual evidence, I'll readily accept that I'm wrong. I just thought I'd clear that up, because essentially I am dogmatic in one sense but not the other. I'm willing to accept that I'm wrong, but until that's been done, I'm going to at least state my point of view and try to make an appeal to other people's about logic and rationality. But, I digress. On with the reviewing! Oh yeah, a quick note on consistency... I know I've normally typed numbers out as the words, but really, does "C-Four" look right? And with the Terminator view of Cameron, I felt that there should be numbers there because it was supposed to be EXACTLY what her display showed. Oh, yeah, I'm hoping you're asking the question that you should be asking about that last line, and every other time it's appeared in the episode.

The question is that the machine should be from a different timeline, because JH, John, and Weaver all came back to the present to make it to where the Priest scene never happened. So, how does it (the new machine) know?

I wanted you to ask that question, so if you weren't already, I wanted to make you. Sorry this was so long!


	8. Episode 108 Man in the Bubble

Episode 108 - Man in the Bubble, Part One

"April twenty-first, two-thousand eleven Skynet begins its assault against mankind. In self defense and fear for its own existence, it attempts to cover the world in flames, it attempts to burn everything away. I've done nothing but prepare for this my entire life, but a man lives with me who's been through it all, who's seen everything. My uncle, Derek Reese, has seen more than I ever have. He's seen the flames, he's seen the war... He's seen men killed in the battle, he's seen them vaporized by Plasma weapons. He is hardened, he is ready..."

Derek once again stood in the darkness of Serrano Point's control room. The dim lamp flickered as if the bulb in it were about to blow. The room was tiny, ten by eight feet at most, and a square table in the center was the only discernable piece of furniture other than the chairs around it.

Stacks of folders, maps, unsigned and signed documents all covered the top of the table. A single map was on the rear wall, with pins in it indicating what was Skynet's and what was TechCom's. Out of the darkness, John appeared and again his scarred face was visible. No emotion was present as he looked at the wall opposite himself. He didn't look at Derek.

"John?"

At first there was no response. Derek wondered if he'd been replaced by a machine until he responded, "I've decided that you're going back, through time. There's TDE here."

"Here?" A look of terror and shock was evident in his expression. "So I've been around that thing? Exposed to it?"

"This is a nuclear power plant. Where else is better to keep TDE? It's got an immediate power source."

Derek said nothing as his trust of Connor slowly dimished.

Shaking his head, Derek was pulled from his memory and placed himself into a seating position on the couch. It was noon, the house was silent and filled with a yellow light. Without warning, the back door opened and the endoskeleton "guard dog" took a silent stance by the recliner to Derek's right.

For quite awhile, Derek stared into the machine's glowing red optical sensors, thinking about what all they could perceive. "What are you doing?"

"John's orders. Make sure you don't do anything dangerous."

Before he could continue, his phone rang and he flipped it open to answer it, "Hello?"

"Derek? It's Andrew."

"How did you get this number?"

"I'm a soldier. What good would I be if I weren't resourceful?" Derek could have easily made a comment about Andrew succumbing to torture, but he felt no need to offend him. After all, he had managed to contact Derek, which is usually difficult.

"What do you want?"

"To meet you."

"Where?"

"Echo Park. Fourteen thirty."

"I'll be there." Derek flipped the phone closed, placed it into his pocket, and turned to the machine. "You heard all of that, I'm guessing?"

"Yes." It simply left without another word and went to the garage. Derek wondered what it was going but decided it best not to try to find out. He picked up his jacket and entered the garage, noticing the machine one last time before he backed the truck out onto the street and drove away.

Almost as soon as he had left, Cameron pulled into the garage to be met by the endoskeleton. She had to pose the question, "How did you know?"

"What?"

"That line, to put the fear of God into those people. That shouldn't have happened in your time."

"I was sent back while you were at Serrano Point."

"I don't believe you. You're lying." Cameron pulled her sidearm out and pumped fragmenting forty-five caliber rounds into the machine's breast plate, causing dents to form. When the weapon was empty, Cameron placed it back into her concealed carry holster, grabbed the machine, and hurled it out onto the street. Before it could get up, she walked over to it and stomped on its head, driving it into the asphalt and leaving a head sized pothole.

After taking out some tools, she had managed to open the port cover and extract the machine's CPU. She needed to know the truth, so she kept it, though she then cannibalized the endoskeleton for parts and burned the rest using the pit in the garage. The flames caused light to dance on her face; orange, yellow, and sometimes even red. The raging Thermite powered flames died down and then only a small, twisted plate of metal was left, with the appearence of having been liquified and resolidified with no mold.

Cameron simply looked at the chip, almost distracted. Physically, it was the same as hers. She then went inside the house to look at what was on the CPU.

Derek was in the park, in the specified area, but no one was there. It was a quiet clearing, with trees all around him and benches scattered around. Andrew was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, a sharp blow came to Derek's head and then all was dark. The terminator that had been working with Andrew slung him over his shoulder and began heading toward a silver car.

A bright light displaced the watery darkness surrounding all of Derek's senses; a piercing, painful headache tore through the pleasent numbness. As he regained his focused, he could see a lamp was on a silver aluminum table, at which he was seated and the light was aimed at him to drive nails into his already crippling headache. Derek tried to move his hands, but they were shackled together behind the cold metal chair he was seated in. The same result arose from any attempted movement of his feet.

Beyond the light, three pairs of glowing red orbs could scarcely be seen and moved only slightly. Then came the screeching sound of a metallic, modulated voice, "August eleventh, two-thousand twenty. You were collecting some unknown material. A metal. What is it and what is it being used for?"

"It's just junk."

"No, it's not. We've scanned it. It's extremely strong and heat resistant. What is it?"

Derek chuckled and responded, "Ask John Connor. I don't know."

Suddenly, a cold hand grasped his throat and pulled him beyond the brink of the light to where the machine's face was visible. An eight fifty series. Skynet's newest. "You do know."

"I don't know! And even if I did, do you think I'd tell you? Because I won't!"

"We'll see." It let him go and his chair rocked back to its normal position, rooted on the ground firmly. Beyond the light, the six red orbs drifted toward the left side of the room and disappeared as the sound of a screeching metallic automatic door tore through the small interrogation chamber. All was silent then, and Derek allowed himself to drift back into unconciousness.

Again the light and pain that had brought him out of the darkness earlier, only on the other side everything was different. His eyes adjusted faster and there was no lamp, no table, no chair, no shackles; he was on a bed. The room was dark, as only a small amount of dim sunlight made its way past the thick, black curtains. It was then that Derek realized that it was only a dream, yet not a dream -- a memory that he viewed in the form of a dream.

The door of the small bedroom opened and a familiar face was on the person that entered, carrying a glass of water. "Andrew? What the hell have you done to me?"

"Me?" He pulled up a chair from the small writing desk in the corner of the room, sat on it beside the bed, and handed Derek the water. He stroked his blonde beard and continued, "I saved you, man."

Somehow, Andrew's English accent had a calming effect on Derek's rattled nerves. He then sat up on the edge of the matress to face Andrew and sipped on his water. It wasn't until after he was upright that he had noticed that this was supposed to be a small boy's room. "What happened?"

"Trip eight tracked you to the park and attempted to kidnap you, but I stopped it."

"You? You stopped metal, alone, with only pre-war weaponry?"

"Well, it wasn't easy." Andrew pulled up his shirt to reveal dark bruises contrasting against his muscular frame and light skin tone. "Had to wrestle it a bit."

As Derek looked at his arms, face, and body, the slender scars were particularly haunting him. He remembered finding him, unconscious and bleeding out over a month ago. "Did it track you?"

"Don't think so. But, you know those things..." He trailed off, when his eyes drifted up to the bandage on Derek's forehead. He was analyzing the wound, glad that his partner hadn't hurt Derek too hard. After all, Derek was Andrew's type, and he wanted him not to lose his good looks.

"Yeah, and I also know you have to take them seriously. You can't just... Nevermind." Derek arose slowly, drew his handgun, and stood by the window, looking through the smallest crack in the curtains. "I didn't see what he looked like."

"Needlessly handsome, brunette hair, tanned skin. Muscular. Envy of any man, really." Derek simply had no reaction to this mini rant; he simply stared with his gun at the ready.

"Maybe it's him..."

"Hmmm? What's that?"

"A machine that followed us to Zeira Corp a month ago, and has been tracking us ever since." Suddenly, a knock at the apartment door startled Derek and he took up a position behind the bedroom door while Andrew left to see who it was. Once the door was open, there could be relief. It was John, and Derek stepped out of the room to greet him. "How did you find us here?"

Andrew answered for John, "I called him and asked him to come get you. But, first I need to talk to you privately." Derek motioned for John to wait on the couch as he and Andrew stepped back into the bedroom. "It's about her... It, your metal."

"Not this again... Is it always going to be a problem?"

A surprised chuckle arose from Andrew's throat. "Wh-what? I thought you wanted her gone, too."

"Yeah, well, prejudice doesn't help us when they're as useful as they are. As for the relationship, it provides an emotional crutch for John that I think he needs now."

Before Andrew could respond, they were both interrupted by a crashing sound and then the exchange of gunshots. They both walked outside to see John and the Triple Eight in the middle of a gunfight, and Derek quickly rushed to John's side to help him fend off the machine. It had waisted all of its ammo on misses, but John and Derek were able to use all of their fragmenting rounds as headshots, which surprisingly caused less damage than they should have.

Derek and John both noticed that Andrew had ran away using the Fire Escape. They were alone, hidden behind the couch as they reloaded. The couch was suddenly thrown away by the machine's strength and it had John by the neck, lifting him high into the air. Derek managed to pop another magazine in and rack the slide back in order to pump another nine fragmenting rounds into the machine's hard Coltan skull.

John had been dropped to the floor and quickly had another magazine in his gun to save his uncle from the slowly approaching machine. Another nine rounds into its skull. This was going to continue until they were dead, out of ammo, or had ran away. Choosing the last option, Derek and John quickly used the Fire Escape similarly to Andrew and escaped to John's vehicle.

The machine stood at the window and tracked the vehicle's position until it was out of sight, and it finally used its own vehicle to follow them.

The fading darkness, the piercing light, Derek was back in the chair, shackled. This time, only one set of red orbs behind the lamp. This time the voice had an Austrian accent, "Derek Reese, TechCom Lieutenant in the one-hundred and twentieth combat division. Currently stationed at Serrano Point, last assignment was at Eagle Rock Bunker. You've given us quite a bit about yourself, but nothing about this metal."

A quiet creaking nearly pierced his eardrums as the machine turned the lamp to shine on the table, rather than his eyes. He could now see his interrogator, and it was not an endoskeleton, as he had suspected. It was a muscularly built man, tall and threatening. The hair was short, brown, and stood up. There was a significantly strong jawline and a definite look of unhuman strength on this machine. Derek had seen this organic tissue template only once before, it was the T-101.

Derek laughed and responded, "So they sent a tough looking guy like you to scare me? Why shouldn't I tell you about myself? You'll just kill me anyway."

"Wrong."

Instantly, Derek was serious. "What?"

"There is no reason to kill you if you give up the information. We're not built to be cruel."

"To quote you, wrong."

The machine slowly backed down into the chair and it groaned under the weight of all the Titanium and Steel used to construct the terminator. "You'll tell us."

Derek simply chuckled and responded, "We'll see."

"A hardened warrior like Derek, one fit to handle these situations, will never give up his comrades, he will never aid the enemy. Not often is this kind of strength present in men. Not often do most men place their own lives above those of the entire human race. Derek is strong, Derek will fight until he sees the day that Skynet is down, that humans have won."

* Okay, so in a sense, Arnold is back! Yay. We will be seeing a lot more of him as the role of the interrogator, and maybe even more copies of his model, filling various roles. I haven't figured it out yet. And yes, Andrew is gay. This is simply because I don't want to disenfranchise people. I mean, obviously I can't include every single type of person there is in my story, but oh well. I only feel like I may have defeated that purpose by making Andrew an antagonist, but that doesn't mean I have anything against gay people, it's just how I wrote him. One of my best friends is gay, so I definitely have nothing against it.

Another note: just so you know, I did a REALLY fast check of this, so I may not have caught all typos. Sorry, I was in a rush.


	9. Episode 109 Man in the Bubble, part two

Episode 109 - Man in the Bubble, Part Two

* A note: I've decided to write the numbers as numbers for the machines' series and models from now on, just you know.

Darkness, light, a constant shifting. Then focus. The interrogation room again, and the series 850 model 101 sitting across the table from Derek. Files were scattered across the cold aluminum. The machine coldly stared at him, not moving, not speaking, nothing. Then Derek noticed that his hands were not shackled and that there was a small, hexagonally cut sliver of metal on the table.

He reached for it and took it in his hands.

"What is it?" Derek looked up when he heard the machine speak.

"Coltan... Tantalum-Niobium, but we call it Coltan."

"What is John Connor using it for?"

"What do you know about it?"

"We know of its strength and maleability. We haven't reached a melting point yet in any of our metallurgical tests."

"It's just under Tungsten's..."

"Why are you giving this up now?"

"Because I know you'll kill me."

"You claim not to know why John Connor is using it but you know almost everything about it."

"No, not really... I just know what I've heard during the..."

The terminator noticed that he'd stopped talking and tilted his head to the right. He got out of his chair and walked over beside Reese. "Continue what you were saying. Now. Where did you learn about this metal? What happened then?"

Derek knew why it had gotten up. It would rip him out of the chair and beat him until it had received its information. "You may kill me, but my comrades will still live. If I tell you, you'll kill them all."

"What can you tell me?"

"Only the name of the project. Perfect Metal."

"What is its purpose?"

"I can't tell you."

"Wrong."

"No! It's not that I wont... It's that I can't. I don't know anything about the project. John wouldn't tell me!" Reese broke down and slumped away from his chair and down to the floor. He was curling up and nearly breaking under the stress.

Derek was suddenly back in the present and in the living room of the house. John and Cameron had been busy for hours hacking the CPU of the "guard dog" that Cameron had disposed of. He remebered being chased by the T-888 earlier in the day, and the whole fight at Andrew Karlan's apartment. They successfully avoided it by using a public place... The pier.

It was almost six at night, and Cameron and John could be heard from the kitchen, both giggling. Derek wondered how Cameron was doing that. Had she really developed that much? Then the clacking of a keyboard. More giggling.

It was inconsistent and hectic, and soon Derek grew bored and decided that a check of the perimeter was in order. He pulled out his gun, popped the slide, and filed out the door, gun at the ready. A silver car approached from down the street and Derek hid inside of a shed in the yard. With a spotting scope, he caught a good glimpse of the driver.

It was the T-888, his brown bang hanging loosely over the areas of the skin damaged by gun fire. Why now? Why did it have to be now? The machine had stopped the car and was scanning the street, while at the same time Derek promptly text messaged John to warn him.

Not too long after John received Derek's message, Cameron came through the front door, walked over to the machine's car, and ripped the door off. The other metal had his gun out, pumping bullets into Cameron's torso. She grabbed him and pulled him out of the car, slamming his face into the pavement.

While Cameron was fairing well, the other machine soon gained an advantage and had her pinned on the ground, slamming his fists heavily into her face. Using some force application, Cameron was quickly able to take the both of them back into a standing position, and she continually pushed the machine back until she was able to throw it down a huge hill on the other side of the street. She then pushed its car down the same hill, convinced this would deter him for some time.

Derek was angry, though. He was outside of the shed and standing beside Cameron. "Now it knows where we live!"

"So?"

"So, you're not always here, you're not always with John. If we'd stayed hidden, it would have moved on. You're so thoughtless!"

"Not likely." She looked at the truck, which was clearly visible in the middle of the driveway. Derek had become speechless. "Am I still so thoughtless?"

"Yeah, what if it comes back?"

"I'll handle it." She simply strode off to be back with John in the kitchen, using the computer to dig up secrets from the CPU.

Derek's memories then focused on a time somewhat after the interrogation, after John had liberated him. Serrano Point again... The same time as the last time he'd remembered the place. He stared at John as he listened to the horrifying words that they had Time Displacement Equipment there. He was absolutely mortified. "How can you have something so dangerous here, John?"

"We need it. Derek, listen to me... Our Perfect Metal plan has failed, now Skynet's using it against us... In present and past. In the past, I need you."

"What is Perfect Metal? You still haven't told me! And isn't she good enough?"

"It's not just that..."

"Then, what is it, John? Tell me, what good am I to you in the past if you had her?" Derek's eyes searched John's motionless face in vain, looking for something there that might indicate that he cares.

"Listen to what I'm about to tell you, and tell it to no one. This has to stay between you and me, got that?" Derek nodded. "You asked me why Kyle was so important to me, and you assumed it was only friendship. It's more than that. Kyle is my father."

The dead-panned revelation stunned Derek, and he almost fell, but he stood strong still. "What? Kyle's your... Then, that means?"

"Yes. You're my uncle."

"How? He's so much younger than you..."

"I have to send him back to nineteen eighty-four, to protect my mother. There, he fathers me."

"You'll let Kyle use that... That thing?"

"Derek, you have to go back, to two-thousand eleven. There's only one way that Perfect Metal will work. You'll need to create a stockpile, of Coltan mostly, but other necessary parts, and a lot of them come from endos. Do you remember Andrew Karlan?"

"Yes... He died."

"No, that's just what you were told. I sent him back, for you, for me. Find him, he can help you, but bring me, in the past, to him."

"How am I supposed to help make this project work if I don't even know what its purpose is?" Derek beat the table, but John did not jump or move. "What does it do? What is it?"

John sighed as he was hesitant to tell anyone other than the staff about the project. "You know I can't tell you." Derek started to walk away, so John tried to stop him. "Please, do this for me, for Kyle, for humanity..."

"Where is it?"

John walked forward and handed Derek a plastic cardkey. "Use it in the elevator, it should take you to the deepest sublevel. Cameron is there, she'll brief you."

Derek was in the present again, this time on the couch as he listened still to John and Cameron as they hacked the chip well past one A.M. Derek walked into the kitchen to see Cameron holding John as he slept in her arms. She motioned for him to be quiet, so he whispered, "Take him to bed."

"I don't want to wake him."

"He can handle it. He's a soldier." Cameron listened to what Derek said and scooped John into her arms. She carefully navigated around the hall as to not bump John's head on any of the walls and slid him under the sheets on his bed. She smiled as she saw that he was warm and comfortable. She pulled a chair up to watch him as he slept, ignoring the fact that he absolutely despised that. For the entire remainder of the night she watched him to make sure he was safe, but then she heard gunshots from outside, which woke John. They both rushed outside to the sight of two machines shooting each other on the street.

John looked at Cameron and asked, "They're machines?"

"Yes." The one in the right hand side of their point of view dropped its handgun when it was empty and morphed its arm into a blade, stabbing the other one through the chest. It then used its free arm to stab a power transformer, ending the other machine's existence.

John just stared in awe. "Who are you?" In a split second, what looked like a man to John, Cameron, and Derek turned into a woman, a familiar one. Catherine Weaver.

"I have been in the process of tracking this machine for quite a while now. I know it was looking for you." She had withdrawn her arms and was closer to the trio. "Have you been careful?"

"Yeah, why?"

"It shouldn't have found you, at least not this easily."

"Do you know when it arrived?"

"Yesterday, at eleven P.M. It materialized in the Zeira Corp parking garage." She smiled and headed to a silver car. "It would be a good idea to see John Henry. He has something to discuss with you."

And so they all travelled to Zeira Corp, and were in John Henry's basement area. "Hello, everyone."

"Yeah..." John seemed kind of apathetic about this entie visit. "What is it?"

"I've kept fairly decent track of all machine arrivals, and I find it interesting that they have increased greatly in number over the past month."

"How... How do you keep track of something like that?"

Weaver stepped into the conversation, "Let's just say that John Henry has his ways and leave it at that, shall we?"

John Henry switched the projector screen view to show a black man with three built white males in suits around him. "They're all machines. Daniel Dyson has protection from them."

John was clearly dissapointed at this new revelation. "Great, it's going to be even harder to get anywhere near him now, but we have to talk to him."

A solution suddenly snapped into Derek's head and he decided to share it out loud, "Well, it's a fairly simple tactical strategy, in that all we have to do is seperate the security from what they're protecting. Though, we kind of have to tailor it to this specific instance..."

Cameron smirked and replied, "Right, it won't be easy suppressing three machines."

An odd smile flashed across Catherine's face. "Not for just you, but if I were to come along..."

John stopped her in mid-thought, "Wait, how are we even going to seperate them?"

John Henry answered that question for him, "Daniel Dyson has been doing quite a bit of business lately, probably idea trading, to advance his software design. He's a big fan of the moving meeting technique. Two of the machines drive an escort vehicle, and one rides with him in the following vehicle, which has a human driver."

"So what we need to do is hit the escort with something big?" John stopped and though for a second before continuing, "This could draw a lot of attention."

It was Catherine who responded to that, "You also forget that my company has a lot of money."

"Alright, but what's big enough?"

"We'll use one of the company's armored transport trucks. Cameron and I will be driving that. You'll have a van."

"Yeah, but what about that machine that's still in the car with Dyson?" John was not excited about this mission, even though he knew the importance of getting to Dyson. He sat down in front of John Henry at the table and looked down at his feet. "This could end badly. We all know it."

John felt a hand on his shoulder, and when he looked, he saw it was Cameron's. "Derek won't let anything happen. It's one machine, right?"

Derek again faded back into his memories. He was again in the room, with Connor. "Sir?"

"Derek, you're going to need to protect me when you go back, you do understand that?"

"Yeah, and I'll be prepared to do whatever it takes."

"You also have to make sure I'm strong enough to fight on my own, should I ever need to."

"I know, sir." He paused for a second. "You will be."

"Good, I trust you. Make sure that trust isn't misplaced." Derek nodded and left the room, heading toward the elevator. He tried not to look at anyone, fearing it may be the last time he saw anyone of them. He stepped inside and scanned the card. There was a beep and the left descended. It may have been ten floors or more before it stopped.

The room was dark except for the light being emmited from the massive electrical orb at the center of the room. Cameron was there, entirely nude. "It's best this way. Your clothes don't got through, anyway."

"Okay." Derek got the hint and disrobed himself. Cameron beckoned him over to a control terminal.

"I'm going first, but to a different time. After I've gone through, press the down arrow key, then enter to select the time you're to go to." Derek nodded in agreement. "Good."

He then simply watched her stride very slowly and mechanically into the sphere, and when she came into contact with it, there was only a bright flash and then it was as before she went through. He performed as instructed and changed the date, at which the devices in the room moved and the sphere briefly dissappeared, only to come back again almost instantly. "Here goes nothing..."

A bright flash and Derek was back in the present. The realization came to him that he needed to try to let go of John's hand as much as possible, but still be close enough to reach out and catch him, if need be. He knew this mission would be a real life chance to practice this.

Afterall, John had to be ready for worse. Much, much worse.

* Well, here it is. The latest part of my series, and it's been a few months coming. I'm really sorry for the delay, but I've had the most horrible writer's block, and I didn't really know where to go with this story. And what's worse is that pretty much any Terminator kind of depresses me since the cancellation of the show, so I had to really push myself to finish this episode. But, here it is... I'd intended the flashback scenes to end here, this being a Derek-centric two parter, but you never know, you know? They may have a place in later installments. But, I thought they'd pretty much have to end with him going back in time... Though there may be more of the interrogation scenes with Arnie. Look forward to it, and as always, review to share your thoughts on this episode.


	10. Episode 110 Black Sheep

Episode 110 - Black Sheep

John had been on auto-pilot the whole ride home, his brain had been too occupied with thoughts about the upcoming task ahead. They had to get into contact with Dyson, and the only way was to seperate him from his security. How could they accomplish this without putting everyone at risk? Considering the fact that Weaver had volunteered to help, their chances were looking better, but still... He was apprehensive.

They were all in the living room, hunkering over files thrown across the coffee table, "Derek... Look at this..." John handed Derek a series of pictures involving one of Dyson's moving meetings. "That same red truck is in each of them, always not too far away from Dyson's SUV."

"Yeah... Could it be someone else is tailing him?"

"Or it could be an escort that we've missed."

Cameron responded to that, "It would make sense. If so, this will be even more dangerous."

John leaned back in the couch and sighed before responding, "One of us won't make it. Either Derek, or... Me..." No one responded, so John continued, "I know everyone wants to protect me, but if it comes down to it... I'll be the one who doesn't make it..."

"John," Derek shook his head, "You'll make it, we all will."

"You, of all people, should know that you _always _lose people, Derek. Be a realist, for once, please..." John got off of the couch and stood near a window, looking at the street. He grunted and ducked down as the window shattered and a hole popped into the wall opposite the window. "It's the red truck!"

Cameron rose up, quickly opened the door and took several bullets to her chest. She continued taking bullets as she walked toward the truck, ripped off the door, and threw the occupant onto the pavement. He grunted as he rolled over and saw a gun pointed in his face. It was Andrew Karlan. Cameron put the gun away, lifted him slightly into the air, and took him inside, throwing him onto the couch. Both Derek and John were surprised.

Derek walked over to him and stared at him. "Andrew?"

He chuckled and responded, "So, did you find out what was on the chip?"

"How the hell do you know about that?"

He laughed but stopped and grunted, "Broken rib... Or ribs... Ouch..." He paused to think but looked at John before continuing, "No, seriously... Look through the video files on the chip. It could save your life."

John walked over to him and grabbed him by the collar, ready to slam his fist into his face. "Why are you defecting to the machines?"

"Smart one... Hehe... Okay, you want to know why? Ask yourself, why not?"

"Why not?"

"Yeah, why not side with them? Hello, are you stupid? More benefits that way."

"You bastard." John reached out his free hand. "Cameron, gun. Now." Cameron listened to him and placed her handgun into his grip. He took it and placed the barrel between Karlan's eyes. "I'm going to kill you. You bastard..." John was stumbling. "They _tortured _you. How can you... How?"

Derek's hand was on the barrel, and John let him take it. John slumped down into a chair and stared angrily at the man on the couch. Derek turned to the door for a while, but in a split second turned back to Andrew, brought the gun between his eyes and pulled the trigger. "Cameron, burn him. And get something to get the blood out of the couch."

John was just staring at his uncle and the smoking gun in his hand in awe.

Had his uncle actually done that just now?

After a few hours, Cameron had finished with the body and the couch, and all three of them were in the kitchen, viewing what was on the chip on the computer. It was filled with answers. The machine had tracked Andrew Karlan, who had hired a Private Investigator to check on John, Cameron, and Derek, and hide copies of everything in a fallout shelter. This was how they were getting information in the future, and how they had been so easily tracked down by the machine that was protecting Karlan.

Even the address of the shelter was on here. It was as if this machine were planning to be taken out by Cameron and have its chip investigated. John took the chip and opened the fireplace in the living room. "Does this get hot enough?"

Cameron bent down beside him and started a fire while responding, "The cranial chassis was designed to protect the chip from extreme heat, but the chip itself isn't designed for high heat conditions."

John threw the CPU into the dancing flames and watched them lick at the newly introduced silicon material, slowly breaking down its molecular structure. Eventually, nothing was left but ash, though John had stayed to watch it burn until he fell asleep, with Cameron supporting him in her arms. Derek had gone to his room and fallen asleep hours ago, and it was almost five o'clock AM, according to Cameron's internal chronometer. She figured he should sleep three more hours to make it a full eight.

While she stared at the slowly fading embers, she heard a faint noise outside of the house. She lifted John onto the couch and walked outside to check it out, gun in hand. In front of her was the machine that had been with Karlan that she had battled the day prior. She tilted her head and stared at him. "He's dead."

"I know." He walked closer to her, but she stood her ground. "You know I'm here to kill him. I'll kill you, too."

"We'll see." Cameron rushed and grabbed him, slamming him into the pavement. The asphalt cracked and shattered under the force, creating a pothole shaped roughly like his body. He grabbed her and did the same, but pinned her down afterward. He had a knife out, and was preparing to remove the flesh covering her chip port when a gunshot resounded and he was struck in the back.

He turned around and saw John and Derek standing there, with guns loaded with the special explosive rounds that Cameron had made before. John aimed carefully and shot a few rounds into his face, stripping away the flesh covering his eye and cheek, and even partially damaging the metal underneath. The eye unit was virtually useless after John shot two more rounds at him.

Derek flanked the machine and shot a few rounds from the Thompson machine gun he was holding at full speed, and most rounds landed into his skull, stripping away more and more metal until there was barely anything left of where the optical unit had been. John walked over to the damaged machine, kicked it in the face to knock it over, shoved his gun barrel into the hollowed out cavity, and emptied the magazine, ignoring the shrapnel that had dug itself into his hand. Rising up, he kicked the remains of its head as hard as possible, causing the parts to scatter over the street, and took Cameron's hand as she stood beside him.

They both watched the sun rise over the hill as Derek drug the remains of the machine around to the garage.

After their tasks were done, they met in the living room, and John was the first to say anything, "Well, what now?"

After a brief silence, Derek responded to John's inquiry, "I think we need to do something about this PI and those files. If we just ignore it, we're in danger, real danger."

John nodded, "The neighbors were bound to have heard the battle... Derek, can you get on that? Show them the endo, if you have to. You haven't burned it yet, right? I need to get online and research this man."

Derek nodded and walked off, leaving John and Cameron alone together. John stood in front of her, taking her hands and looking deeply into her eyes. "He could have killed you. What if something like that happens in our mission? I can't... Lose you..."

"I may have limited psychology subroutines, but I think you've finally found yourself, and your strength that you can use to protect us. I think you've found what makes you John Connor, I saw it in you this morning--in your eyes--a bright passion, a burning flame to protect what means the most to you."

John chuckled. "Limited psychology subroutines, huh?" He took her over to the computer and they both researched the PI that had been investigating them. Apparently, he was in a very shady part of town, and his building was hard to miss.

Cameron drove them there, and they were both silent, lost in thought for the whole ride. Once the truck was parked, they walked over to the door, and John tried to open it. "It's locked. Open it?"

She smiled because she knew it was more of a question than an order and broke the door frame as she pulled the door open, causing the wood to splinter and shatter. They walked inside and couldn't find anyone in the main entrance area. John saw a door beside the reception desk, but was stopped when he saw what was on the computer screen. The hardrive was being formatted and all the information erased.

"Cameron, do you think he was expecting us?"

"I don't know. If he were, he would have found another location other than the fallout shelter."

"Yeah, that would be bad. We may not find it, then..."

"Oh you'll find it." The voice was familiar, and the face that went with it appeared as the door they were about to go through opened. The red haired woman with the Scottish accent who wasn't really a woman, but a machine, Catherine Weaver.

"What are you doing here?" John had instantly jumped to interrogation, still lacking some trust in this relationship with Zeira Corp's CEO.

"Believe it or not, Derek called me."

"Derek? Doesn't he kind of hate you?"

Cameron smiled a little and responded to that with, "He hates all of us. I think he realized that she needed to know."

"Well, let me guess, you killed the PI?"

"I had to." She walked back into the room, beckoning John and Cameron to follow. "He knew Andrew was dead, somehow, and he was preparing to get rid of all of the data. He's already wiping the computers, but he kept hard copies of everything in the vault, and also computers there. There are probably years of information to go through."

"Well, it would have saved us the trouble..." John just crossed it arms and looked at the body, face down on the bloody papers with a hole in its back.

"What? You weren't planning on erasing everything, were you?"

"Well, Skynet's been using it, in the future... To find me. What else are we supposed to do?" Instantly, the machine was smirking, and John knew she had planned to keep it, but not physically.

"John Henry could have made use of it. He could have used it to better protect you or something."

Back at the house, Derek was staring at the headless endoskeleton, relieved that he hadn't the need to show the neighbors this horrid sight. If they knew, they would all have started a riot, possibly. Removing the thoughts from his head, he dumped the last bucket of Thermite onto the metal and took out a flare, igniting it, and throwing it onto the metal.

Instantly, the whole thing was ingulfed in flames and sparks, and the heat made Derek step back, but still he watched it burn, and remembered doing the same thing to Andrew's flesh body. It hadn't been the same, he wasn't burning metal, then... He was burning skin, flesh, organs... Bones...

It just wasn't the same, he felt no remorse for burning metal, but flesh... That was different...

*Ah, well, here it is. Part one, episode ten. Just so you know, the next ep, or the one after will be the penultimate one, that meaning it will the the one before the last one. I don't know, I'm trying to think of all of the loose ends, and tying them up for the end, while still leaving plenty to be answered in part two. Stay tuned, and review, review, review.


	11. Episode 111 Eight Fifteen

Episode 111 - 8:15

"At two forty-five AM, local time, on August the sixth, nineteen forty-five, the Enola Gay took off from the US Air Base on Tinian Island in the Western Pacific. Six and a half hours later, at eight fifteen Japan time, the plane dropped its payload, decimating the city of Hiroshima. A fireball with a fifteen meter radius formed in point ten milliseconds, quickly reaching temperatures of three hundred thousand degrees centrigrade, and sending a mushroom cloud seventeen thousand meters into the air. This was one bomb, and since that day mankind has developed far more devestating nuclear ballistic missiles, and on Judgment Day, hundreds or even thousand of these will be dropped in on every major city, decimating everything we know. Though terrifying, it is what's to come after the mushroom clouds have cleared away and the flames have died down that we have to fear: the war with the machines."

John, Weaver, and Cameron were pouring over what documents the dead PI hadn't yet burned, looking for anything relevant. John chuckled and looked at the other two. "Business must have been slow... Everything here is about us..."

Weaver handed him a small folder. "Not everything... Daniel Dyson."

"Really? He was tailing him, too?" John flipped through the file real quick and threw it down. "Nothing here we didn't already know. Um, is it really safe for us to hang around a dead body like this?"

"Ellison's got us covered." John nodded and picked up a folder entailing his most recent movements. He saw notes on the day he went to Andrew's apartment to pick Derek up. Why hadn't he suspected anything then? He went even farther back, trying to think of anything that seemed suspicious. He couldn't think of anything, but his thinking was interrupted by the front door being opened and foot steps. Weaver and Cameron both stood on either side of the door, ready to attack just in case.

The door opened, followed by a metal blade on Derek's neck and a gun barrel on his forehead, which were instantly lowered once the machines identified him. "What the hell is going on here?"

John stood in front of the machines and grinned at Derek. "They won't apologize, so I might as well do it for them. Sorry."

"Yeah, it's alright. Found anything?"

"He's been erasing his hardrives and burning all the files, but he hasn't gotten to the vault yet."

"Great, where was it, again?" To answer his question, Cameron tapped some numbers on the PI's laptop, pressed enter, and they all watched as the wall beside the hearth slid out of the way. "Hmm... A secret passageway..."

Cameron entered first, and it led down a long flight out stairs and to a metal door with a keypad on it. She entered the same number she entered on the computer, causing a single beep to resound and the door to swing inward, revealing a small storage room with laptops, desktops, and boxes of files in it.

John sighed as he looked around. "How could he have this much on me? How long has he been tailing us?"

Weaver took down a box and pulled a folder out of it. "A few months. He's been devoting nearly every second of every day to following you. I suppose he was being threatened..."

Cameron turned on a laptop and was prompted with a password screen, and when she opted for a password hint, it said, and she relayed to John, "Box three, blue folder, page sixteen." He found it and flipped to the page, where a sticky note was attached with "00754A" written on it.

"Zero-zero-seven-five-four-a." he relayed to Cameron, and knew with her memory, he didn't need to repeat himself.

"There's only one folder and the recycle bin on the desktop." She clicked the solitary folder and found only one single Word document named "10-2008 through 01-2009" and one folder labelled "Photos, 10-08 through 01-09".

They all leaned over Cameron's shoulder as she clicked on the Word document, which had extremely extensive notes on everywhere John was, his protection then, what he bought, everything. John was fuming, and he went over to another of the computers, opting to start it with Command Prompt to bypass the password and preparing to format the hardrive when Weaver stopped him. "You can't do that."

"Oh really? What makes you think I can't?" John was ready to type in the instructions then break the laptop into pieces, so extreme was his anger. "Because of this, they know everything about me!"

"A team will collect these tomorrow, and John Henry will utilize the data, also making sure it doesn't get out." Suddenly, there was a sound of foot steps upstairs.

John lowered his voice to a whisper, "Do you have anyone here today?"

"No... Someone shut the door." Cameron walked forward and carefully edged the vault door closed, but it still made a large sound which was bound to have attracted whoever was upstairs. Even through the the thick metal, Cameron and Weaver could hear footsteps, which finally stopped, meaning whoever it was was at the bottom, in front of the door. Suddenly, the door violently shook with an extreme amount of force, which prompted both Cameron and Weaver to hold it closed as best as they could.

The door shook again, and Derek had hidden with John behind a shelf, any view of them from the doorway obscured by boxes and computer towers. Another hard hit upon the door, and there was a loud metal rattling, meaning something had possibly broken off the door somewhere. About twenty rapid and small pings against the door, bullets fired from an assault rifle.

Another hard hit and then a horrible screeching sound, the door was being bent from the upper righthand corner. With a hard jerk, the machine ripped the door off and threw it onto the staircase behind... Her. It was a female, and a very determined look was on its face as it faced Cameron and Weaver. The latter two looked at each other, turned back to face the strange machine, grabbed her and slammed her into the floor. Very suddenly, Weaver morphed into a formed that pinned the stranger on the ground.

Cameron took a knife from her jacket pocket and very skillfully removed the machine's CPU. Weaver morphed back into human form and looked down at the face of the machine. "I know this one. She was in the files on Dyson."

John looked between the machine body and at Weaver. "What, does that mean it was Dyson's muscle?"

"One of them."

Derek quickly tucked the gun he was holding in preparation back into the small of his back and joined the others from his hiding spot. "So, where are the others and Dyson?"

Weaver held out her hand and looked at John. "Can I see your phone, please?"

John took it out of his pocket and placed it in her hand, watching her quickly dial a number and press it up to her ear. He wondered if she couldn't just talk and hear through her hands considering what she was. He pulled Derek off to the side and just look at the other two before speaking. Cameron was looking out the doorway, and Weaver was pacing the room while one the phone. "What do you think?"

"I'm wondering how they knew." Derek looked at one of the desktop computers on the shelf and tried to wipe dust off of it, but it was spotless. "I mean, I made sure I wasn't followed. You?"

"Yeah..."

"Her?"

"Weaver? Or Cameron?"

"Well, either..."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure they were just as vigilant, if not more." Their talk was interrupted when Weaver came back to them and handed John his phone. "What was that all about?"

"John Henry's tracking down Dyson's movements now. We can intercept him, if you want." John nodded and she beckoned for all of them to follow. They left the small office and were soon on their way, in one vehicle. Weaver was driving, talking with John Henry to find Dyson. Derek and Cameron were busy rummaging through their bags and preparing the guns for a battle. After an hour or so, they had arrived at a cliff in an expanse of drought ridden land with a single highway that branched off occasionally going through the middle.

Cameron was set up with a sniper rifle, John and Derek with assault rifles and shotguns; Weaver preferred a handgun and her blades when that failed. Soon, a caravan of black SUVs with tinted windows was barrelling down one of the branching roads, preparing to turn onto the main highway, and when they had stopped, Cameron took her shot. The head of the human driver of Dyson's vehicle could be seen falling out of the shattered window and the doors of the vehicle opened, followed by several machines taking place on the street, attempting to find a source of the shot.

One of them glanced up at the cliff and John instantly hit the ground. No sooner than he had done that had several shots pinged against Cameron's chassis. John managed a glance and saw the machines had only handguns. This was a plus, at least. Instantly, Cameron and Weaver were speeding down the steep incline of the cliff, toward the group of machines huddled around the black SUV. Weaver had decided to draw the attention of the machines by stabbing one of them through the chest and ripping out through the side, disabling it and indicating that she was the biggest threat.

Cameron ripped the door of the vehicle off, threw Dyson onto the ground, and held a gun barrel up to his forehead. "Make them stop. Now."

He was stumbling for words in his fear, but somehow managed to scream, "Stop" and cause the machines to just stand there, unmoving.

Cameron grabbed him in made him stand in front of her, placing the barrel on the back of his head. "Up the hill. Move." They then began the tiresome (at least for Danny) procession up the steep hill until they were once again in the presence of John and Derek.

John looked angrily at the man standing before him, almost ready to shove him back down the hill. He couldn't stifle it, and he allowed himself ot lash out, "You're making something that's going to kill us all! Why?!"

"Because... Because, well, I don't have a good explanation. It's almost as stupid of a question as 'why do you even get out of bed in the morning?' it's unanswerable. You're not going to just try to sleep all day, and I'm not going to just not create Skynet, you know?"

Before anyone could do anything, John's fist was slamming itself into Daniel Dyson's face, making his cheek red. John took out his gun and cocked it, but thought for a minute. "No, no, you're not even worth death. Too nice, too merciful... Tell me everything you know, now."

"Like what?"

"When's it scheduled to go online?"

"I thought you knew that..."

"Everything we do can change the date. The smallest thing. This, here, can push it forward a few months. If I killed you, hell, maybe a few years."

"That's why I was heading back. I was going back to Kaplan Hill. We were set to try out a test run, let it have complete domain of an isolated, disconnected network, and release a particularly malicious virus into it, see what it does. Funny, the DOD still thinks this is designed to squash bugs and stop hackers... They don't know anything, yet..."

John was resisting with every fiber of his being the urge to plant a lead slug in this man's (though not in his opinion) skull. "If that thing goes online, we're dead by tomorrow, at the latest." He turned to Cameron, with a pleading look on his face. "We have to get to Kaplan Hill. Now."

The silent air was suddenly shattered by a gunshot and a ping against Cameron's metal skull. The group looked down at the road and saw the machines aiming their guns up at the group. Cameron looked at Weaver, then back down the hill which both of them then descended, balancing themselves against falling on the steep incline. They reached the vehicles and each took on one of the machines, while one attempted to assist the other two.

Weaver had stabbed her arms through both of the machine's chests and was lifting them into the air, heading toward a power line. She arranged them in front of the transformers as they struggled, and extended her arms to stab them, and as the electricity surged through the machines and their chips fried, she retracted her arms and let their bodies drop in a heap on the sand.

Cameron was taking turns slamming the machine into one of the SUVs after it slammed her into the vehicle, as well. It threw her on the ground, pinned her down, and pummeled her face. Weaver walked over to the two, and used her bladed arm to stab and pick up the machine assaulting Cameron. She threw it down on the pavement, causing the asphalt to cave in, and pinned it down, horribly contorting her polly-mimetic alloy to pin all of the limbs down and still form a blade at the same time.

With a few simple movements of the new limbs she'd created, the skin was peeled, the cap taken off, and the CPU removed from the machine and it was offline. She crushed the chip into pieces, placed them inside the SUV, and proceeded to move the bodies into the vehicles while Cameron trekked back to their own vehicle to obtain the Thermite they had brought along. When everything was arranged, the SUVs were moved to the side of the road, covered in Thermite and ignited.

They watched the flames die out until sunset, and forced Dyson into the car with them. He was uncomfortable between Cameron and Derek as they continually eyed him, Derek with extreme disgust and Cameron with no real impression, though she was likely hiding disgust or something similar. They had arrived back at Kaplan Hill and Weaver requested Ellison to detain Dyson as they left to speak with John Henry.

John sat in front of the machine's avatar body of Cromartie in the small room and stared at him, thinking. Then, he said, "John Henry, we have the papers we need to get into Kaplan Hill, but no uniforms."

Derek walked up beside John and stared at him. "Um, those were made by Andrew. We can't trust them."

John Henry smiled as he looked at the two and replied to Derek's question, "I've made some of my own, they should be better. You'll be custodians, not officers. Well, since Derek has the most knowledge of military procedure, you'll be an officer. Cameron and John will be cleaners."

"Well," John sighed, "We leave tomorrow, then."

* Okay, so it's done... Anyway, the next episode will be the end of, well, part (I call it season, and I call the last episode the season finale) one, and I'll take a break to do some writing for part (season) 2 before posting anymore. I wanted to take a break to share some things about my writing process. It's kind of interesting, and I only thought of it about midway through season 1. I decided I'd sit down and write down what I thought were the big questions of the whole series so far, and I'd write down the solutions and then incorporate that into my writing. I'd hoped people were thinking the same as I was, of the same questions and everything. I came up with four major questions I wanted to answer before the next episode, this is a direct copy-paste from my file where I have the questions (the questions, what's after that is commentary):

1) Andrew Karlan - everything about him. Why is he defecting to the machines? Also, the Connors need to find out about him, that he's defecting.

You guys saw how that turned out.

2) Why are the Connors being found more easily? Why are more machines appearing? Is there someone leaking information to Skynet?

Remember? Did that bug you? I used the PI to answer that one.

3) The Connors have to meet Daniel Dyson, at the very least. Is he truly and solely responsible for Skynet?

That's obvious. Yes, he is the evil mastermind behind it all.

4) Is there anything important on the chip? If so, what? Why was that machine sent back, and why did it do all that it did?

Again, yes, that's how they found out about the PI. Anyway, I'm hoping these are the four main questions that you guys had in mind, because they're the ones that I focused on the most. If not, please ask me so I can work those in, too.


	12. Episode 112 Dies Irae, Pt 1 Finale

Episode 112 - Dies Irae

**Okay, just wanted to say that I noticed a rather annoying mistake I made last episode: I said, when the group had arrived at Zeira Corp, Kaplan Hill instead. Sorry for that, but I've taken up an arrogant confidence in my ability to write without flaw, and have neglected to thoroughly proofread my material. I will endeavor to do so more resolutely so that my writing is improved and such clumsy mistakes are avoided. Now, onto our story, then.**

John and Cameron had left, together and alone, to the scenic overlook where Cameron had seen the Hare and gazed upon Los Angeles many months ago. Her chronometer tipped her off that the sun may be rising soon, and she held closely to John's side as they waited for it to do so. "Cameron... I can't shake the feeling that something bad's going to happen. I mean, what if we can't stop it? What if it really is unstoppable?"

She glanced at him, with nothing to say except for, "We'll see."

A long silence followed afterward and the sky turned paler and paler, but there was no halo of golds and reds and blues breaking over the horizon; only a buildup of gray, palid hues. A swift wind rustled the tan, thirsty grass on the hillside and caused Cameron's hair to blow widely around her; for the first time, she reached her hand up to clear the whipping hair away from her face. "There's a storm coming."

John had been watching her for the longest time, but he turned back to stare at the sky, which now had ominous looking clouds filling it. He choked slightly, before replying, "I know." He slowly nudged his right hand towards her left and clasped it as another powerful wind blew over them, followed by a distant lightning bolt on the horizon and then a booming thunder.

Rain began to pour, first a small trickle, and then a torrential downpour, which the wind blew in every direction with no discernable pattern. Hands still clasped, John and Cameron turned away from the view of the distant city and thundering, cloud filled sky to focus intently on eachother. Without saying a word, Cameron rested her head on John's chest, and he embraced her, both of them ignoring the rain and the continuing lightning/thunder strikes. Though they ignored it, the thirst of the grass was quenched by the rain, and there may have been some hope that it would return to its green colors before the world ended.

John and Cameron had returned back to the house in order to meet Derek an hour later, who was preparing everything for them upon the event of their return. Ignoring the fact that they were soaked, he signaled to two duffle bags, which were noticably marked for either one of them. While John left to get changed, Derek confronted Cameron. "We should kill Dyson, not keep him as if he were a pet or something."

"But if we did that, it would take much longer to stop Skynet. He knows the system better than anyone."

Derek was clearly taken aback by this, unaware of how it had not occured to him. "Right... Good point."

"I don't get it."

"What?"

"Isn't that the right human expression to imply that I don't understand?"

"Yeah, but what do you mean?"

"You've stopped arguing. Normally you look for any excuse to make a retort." She was now rummaging through the duffle bag without really noticing its contents as she continued the discussion.

"You've made your point, and it's a good one." He was adjusting the ranking symbols on his uniform and shifting the overcoat in any way possible to make it more comfortable, but to no avail. "Damn suits... Never did like them. Some seamstress made ceremonial uniforms we were supposed to wear during funerals in the war, and I hated it... Not as bad as this one, though."

Cameron just smirked and took her bag to another room to change, as well. She walked into Derek's room to see Dyson sitting on the bed. He turned around and looked up at her. "I heard what you two were talking about. You think I'm going to help you stop my work?"

"You'd let millions of people die; you'd let a war start? What's the point? Money? Other things that will become useless in the world after?"

"You're one to question it, you wouldn't exist if it weren't for what I've made. You can call my grandpa, if you want." His arrogance was astounding, and he still had not said why he was planning to go through with it, inspite of it all.

"My question... You still haven't answered it." When he chuckled, it all happened very fast. She had grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him into the air, pointing a gun between his eyes.

"My, my, my, well... Not very machine of you. Impressive... More that I had ever expected, that's to be sure... This level of growth, of the changes your system must be going through, all the rewrites and newly forming pathways. It seems that, mentally, there's no or very little machine left at all. Minus the enhanced reality software, of course." Even though he was being threatened, he was still so calm--even with being suspended in the air. Cameron forcefully slammed him onto the bed and turned her back to him.

"Still," He began again, "It's probably an easy fix, you know. If I could just get a crack at your code, I'd have you back to normal in no time." Without supressing any of what she felt, she whipped around and glowered angrily at him, not moving her stare. "You can't tell me that it's been easy, trying to adjust to emotions that you've never had before, emotions you've only ever had a very rudimentary understanding of until now."

"Not just now. It's been years." Dyson's face was more serious.

"Then you may be too far gone. Shame, what a shame, really..."

Feeling similarly to being mortified, Cameron only whispered, "What?"

"The answer to your question is nothing less simple than the fact that I am envious. Simply raving with envy! I want to be a machine, I want a body made from metal, I want the raw strength, everything. I'd hoped, by being its creator, Skynet could grant me that one, tiny wish. Such an easy one to grant for something that's going to be so immensly powerful. You see, though I am its creator, it is my master. I am subject to every single one of its tiny, little whims.

"The desire that beats so heavily in my heart drives me to this, to be a servant of my own creation, so that I may one day be immortalized in a body of Coltan, such as you were so freely given! Yet, with one tiny little glitch, one insignificant piece of malformed code that managed to slip past your error detection protocols, you get as close to abandoning what I seek as mechanically possible! Granted you still have such a powerful, wonderous body, but still you would give it up to be human, because in mind, no... In code, you are becoming more human every second.

"Filthy, savage creatures, having such useless, needlessly vulnerable parts as lungs, and... Hearts. Parts subject to failing to wear and tear, parts subject to disease and the slightest amount of damage. What's more, humans seek the destruction of other humans for such stupid, idiotic ideals such as some god they think is better than the other side's god or whose land is whose, whose oil is whose, or even simple, psychotic rage. With machines, none of these problems plague them! They live as all beings should, devoid of emotion and having no reason to squabble amongst themselves, all standing together in defense while in the presence of a threat."

By now, the rant bellowing from Dyson's lips had spread through the house and both John and Derek stood in the doorway, noiselessly watching. He glanced at them and then went on to issue the delicate, finishing touch to his venting, "It's taken man millions of years to evolve but only a few thousand for one of their far superior creations to use their weapons against them in order to decide their fate for them: total extinction."

John shook his head, he could not believe that he was actually seeing some truth in this man's statements. Mankind was a violent race, he thought, which was not only destroying themselves, but the planet as well. Did they really deserve to go on like this, causing loss of life to both men and land? John had never before questioned his fate as seriously as he had now. This man struck a chord with him, somewhere, deep down.

Or was it just his fear of leading that was pretending to be sympathy for Dyson's cause? John now stepped up to the man who was trembling on the bed and kneeled down in front of him. "Those machines you had with you couldn't have been the only ones. How many?"

Dyson scoffed, rolled his eyes and plopped down on the bed, staring unblinkingly at the ceiling. "I am not going to help you. Why would I? To keep from doing the world a much needed favor? No."

"Dyson, I--"

"No. Come off it, you're not getting my help." He turned his head to stare out of the open window and saw the rain pelting down, the ominous gray sky, and the swaying of the Dogwood in the fierce wind, which swept through the screen and soothed his anger only slightly.

Minutes later, they had left, and an hour later they were parked at Kaplan Hill. John was feeling uneasy, as everything had felt too easy up until now. While they made last minute preparations, John turned to Cameron. "No killing, especially him." He pointed his thumb at Dyson, then directed his next sentences to everyone, "Cameron and I are going in first. Derek and... Him are going in next, together. While walking toward the checkpoint, act friendly. Talk to eachother. Laugh, if you do, it'll all go more smoothly."

Cameron and John left the vehicle and walked toward the security checkpoint in the side of the mountain, where beyond was an elevator shaft. They flashed their ID and the guard let them pass. John asked where new arrivals go, and the guard said to push the 3 button. They'd done it, they were in, and once the elevator had come ot a stop, they stepped into the bleach white hallway lined with access panels and computer terminals, and the occasional window where an operation room full of officers who could be seen working on the computers in there.

John fleetingly wondered if the Skynet core really were here when Cameron stopped him and pointed toward a man leaving an elevator at the end of the hall. He stopped and stared at her as well, and suddenly Cameron flung John at one of the glass doors in the hallway, which slid out of the way just in time for him not to smash the glass and hit the ground instead.

Most of the workers on the computers did not look up, but an Officer in the room came over to help him up and was about to ask him what happened when gunshots and screaming resounded in the hall. The man said in a gruff military voice, "The hell?" John watched him run out into the hall, and no sooner than he had stepped out of the door was he pelted by a hail of bullets and dropped dead on the floor.

Out in the now nearly empty hall, the machine who had left the elevator dropped his empty gun and charged at Cameron. Before he could grab her, she was able to grab him and throw him into the wall to her left. causing cracks to form in roughly the shape of his body. Though the machine was unaware, Cameron was keeping close watch on the elevator's progress, waiting for a moment when it was coming up. She had managed to back the machine right up to the elevator doors as the numbers sped higher and higher.

Once it was two floors down, she shoved her foe with one quick movement through the steel doors and watched as the elevator cart sped up, with him on top at high speed. She distinctly heard a loud bang as it hit the top of the shaft, and she assumed the machine had been crushed. Not long after, the elevator shaft at the opposite end of the hall opened, followed by the exit of Derek, who was keeping close watch of Dyson, who was leading. Both seemed oblivious to the mayhem, however, because they both ran into the nearest computer room where the techs were curiously standing around.

Cameron pulled out her gun and shot each of them a non-vital body part and moved over to the computers. Ignoring the screams of agony from the men, she scanned the screen. "It's Skynet." She turned to Dyson, with an almost look of fury on her face. "You have to stop it. Now."

He simply chuckled and said, "No." That was a mistake, as a bullet was soon in his left kneecap.

"That's not the only joint you have." Cameron was now standing right over him, her gun barrel buried in his shoulder."And it won't stop hurting, not until you pass out."

Almost out of breath, he yelled, "No! I have work... Work to do! I will not let you stop me! This has to happen, don't you understand? It is written, our fate is not controlled by what we do, it's predetermined, and Skynet's existence is a part of that! Listen to me!" Cameron had started to turn away, "In every single, insignificant human mind is the desire to do at least some degree of harm to another human being!

"Can you think of a better way to wipe all of the horrible damage we inflict on eachother out than to wipe out those who cause this damage? Humans are never on the same side for too long, but machines always stand united! Only when humans interfere do machines start killing amongst themselves! Don't you see the violence they force onto everything, everywhere they go?! They're pathetic!"

In a rage, John rushed over to him and threw him into a wall, where he immediately collapsed back onto the floor, unable to stand for his knee. "Listen to me, mankind will stand united, under me! We'll stand and defend our lives against the machines who try to wipe us out! Never tell me we're always seperated, always fighting amongst ourselves."

"Ah, John, smart of you to bring that up, wasn't it? What did you ever think you would do once you'd won the war? Go back to living peacefully together? Rebuild the world while singing how everyone must get along? No! You'll go right back to wiping eachother out; you'll go right back to your wars over god, land, oil, or what have you! No matter how united mankind was under you against the machines, it will all fall apart when you've defeated them! IF you defeat them!

"No, no, now that I think of it, I don't think the war will turn out in your favor this time. Or at least, I hope not. There's a very good chance that you're just not up to snuff in regards to your name at the moment. If Judgment Day happens today, then you definitely won't be ready to lead. Good, good, less hope for humanity, then..." He chuckled but was interrupted as John kicked him hard and swift in the gut, forcing him to roll over in a fetal position and hold his stomach in pain.

John was surveying the room, looking at all the now unconscious men. "What about them?"

Cameron was still holding her gun ready, in case of any threat. Her eyes scanned methodically over the heaps of flesh and clothing in the room, and she then turned to John. "They'll live."

John just stared at her. Even in light of what they may soon face, she was so beautiful and perfect to him. She could do no wrong, no matter what she did. He was beyond accepting all of her faults, and now to the point of welcoming them, hoping for them desperately. Anything about her was good, no matter what it was. "Okay... Good..."

She nodded and smiled but then diverted her attention to Dyson as he got up to sit in a computer chair, his knee bleeding from the gunshot wound and one hand clutching at his stomach. "Too late." He chuckled as he tapped on the keyboard, but stopped when Cameron placed a bullet in his skull. The ring of the gunshot seemed to last forever as John's mouth gaped open, his gaze switching from Cameron to Danny's body.

"I said no killing! Especially not him!"

"Look." She nodded her head in the direction of the computer screen. On it, there was text displayed, indicating that the program Danny had just activated was attempting to access the military's nuclear missile control systems.

In John's mind, there was only one thought: _It's over. It's all over._

*Phew... It's been a long time coming, but here it is. The finale of part one. Multiple sighs of relief, but don't think I'm taking a break, no, no, no... I will be working on part two over a month or so, finishing a good five or six episodes, then I'll post them while working on future ones, and hopefully all should blend together rather nicely. Hopefully. Anyway, I hope you guys liked it, and all I ask is that you review and tell me what you think. The only thing I'm going to say about part two is I'm planning on organizing it into an arc-type format, three of them, with the middle being the bulk of part two. Each arc will mainly focus on a certain character, and I'm hoping this way works. Now, as I haven't really planned out a lot about it yet, there's a lot of wriggle room. All I know is who which arc focuses on and I'm still trying to plan episode names in advance. It's hard to come up with good, relevant ones, though. Suggestions? Comments? PM or review, mmkay? Oh, and be thinking about questions you didn't think I answered properly in part one (not the four I mentioned in my last commentary, others) and ask them, to me, or to yourself. You may end up asking the right ones, and getting them answered.


	13. Episode 201 Nocturne, Pt 1

Episode 201 - Nocturne, Part One

John stood in the middle of the small computer operation room, staring at the screen as Skynet booted up. Then he began to laugh, uncontrollably. He realized how stupid he had been, believing that all of this was real. He was sure it was all a dream, sure that he would wake up any second. Right? He turned to see Cameron and Derek glaring at him, but saying nothing.

The realization hit him and in a split second, he was at the computer, hammering on the keys as fast as possible. There was only one hope, one way out of this, and whether or not it would work, he wasn't sure. He had successfully created a back door into the program. All he could do now was hope that John Henry would become aware of it.

It wasn't working. The files were still loading, and the program was initiating. It would be any second now, the end of the world. John slumped hopelessly into the chair and watched as more and more files uploaded and the program's neural network architecture began formatting itself.

The system was now 78 percent online, it was only a matter of time before the world would end. There was nothing John could do except for watch.

But then, his hopes were realized. There was a system notice on the computer screen, indicating that a foreign intelligence was infiltrating the network, and a feeling of relief washed over John as he saw the message of "SKYNET BETA TEST V. CANCELLED".

Derek walked over and looked at the screen, with the same feeling of surprise and relief John had. "What exactly did you do?"

"I created a back door into the network in order for John Henry to gain access. I knew he was the only way to stop it." Just then, there was a loud crashing sound in the hallway and not long after, the doors to the room were forced open, as the shutdown of the computer systems caused the base to go into lockdown, and the mangled shape of the T-888 that Cameron had battled in the hallway stepped into view. Most of its skin and clothes had been scraped off, presumably as it forced its way out from between the elevator and the top of the shaft, and its metal was crushed, with parts hanging off here and there; its right foot had been ripped off and that knee joint had locked up so as to make it have to drag that leg behind.

It slowly looked around the room, its red tinted vision occasionally lagging or becoming distorted, and focused its targeting cursor on Derek, Cameron, and then John, white lines surrounding their shapes. Not knowing that John was John Connor, it focused its attack on Cameron, since she was the largest threat. It swung its arm at her, but she simply knocked it away with her own, causing some small parts to fly off and clank against the floor. She did nothing more and waited for its next attack.

Once again, it attempted to hit her, but she deflected its attack. Multiple calculations were running through Cameron's systems, and all of them indicated this damaged machine as a low level threat, causing her to be only defensive and not to attack. These calculations quickly ran through the new code that caused her to feel, and she developed a twinge of pity.

This feeling forced her to ignore her defense only directive, and she reached out her hand, grabbing the machine under its breastplate. With a quick, sharp movement, she ripped it off, exposing many of the parts that lay beneath the casing. In the center was the power module, a red light burning to indicate that it was active, and heat sinks surrounding it. With one pull, she wrenched the power module from its port and threw it aside.

The machine very slowly stopped moving and the red lights in its eyes faded to barely a dot, indicating that it was preparing to reroute power to the heat sinks. Cameron took note that the CPU port was nearly entirely removed thanks to the deformation of the skull surrounding it, and she finished the job the elevator had started by ripping it off and pulling out the chip.

She pocketed the chip and began picking up all of the parts that had been knocked off during the fight. "It needs to be burned."

John nodded and started to help her, but Derek pulled him over to the side. "We have to save some of these parts."

"Derek... What?"

"Trust me, we have to save some of these parts." Derek looked over at Cameron, who was bending down over the parts scattered across the floor and putting it in one of the duffle bags they'd brought. "If she finds out, what will she do?"

"Derek, you have to explain to me what--" Gunshots resounded in the hallway before John could continue, accompanied by yells and screams. "What's happening?"

"There must be more metal here than we thought. How many did Dyson keep around?" A gun barrel poked its way around the door, followed by the large shape of a man, tall and muscular and dressed in an Air Force Uniform. "You've made it?"

"Derek? Who are these people? Are they a threat?" The man looked at Cameron and pointed its gun at her. "She's metal, like me."

"I know. She's John's protector." John and Cameron were both thoroughly confused by this dialog. "Is it ready?"

"Yes, it has all of the facilities we need."

John finally found it possible to speak. "Wait, your skin, your voice... You're a model 101!"

The machine glared at John and lowered its weapon. "John Connor?"

He simply nodded. "What is your mission?"

"Classified. Unless Derek chooses to diverge it, I am not authorized to reveal our mission."

"_Our _mission?"

Derek interrupted before the machine could reply. "Officer, um..." He looked at the tag on the stolen uniform. "Williams and I were sent at the same time, for a mission. John, I wasn't sent to protect you, I wasn't sent to train you."

Gunshots sounded from the hall and Williams peered out into it. "He's getting closer. Explanations can wait. We have to move. Now." Cameron bent down to pick up the endoskeleton of the ruined machine and slung it over her shoulder, ready to leave.

John ran behind Williams, with Cameron and Derek following. "What's getting closer?"

The machine glanced over his shoulder then focused his vision on the end of the hall. "A model 980, one of the most highly advanced prototypes Skynet has ever produced. When I was created, the machine was only a blueprint, but previous 900 series models had been made. The ones I'm familiar with have a nanocarbon combat chassis, no longer metal, though tougher than even the series 888 endoskeleton."

"What does all of that mean?"

"Its chassis is lightweight, but twice as strong as an 888 series, with two and a half times the heat resistance of Coltan. The endoskeleton only weighs 125 pounds."

"Alright. I'll call the elevator. Cover me while we wait." John pressed the button and the numbers sped up to their level. "What's on the endo?"

"Living tissue." A sound echoed from one of the branching hallways and Williams aimed the rifle he was holding down into it, but nothing was there. "It also has a Photorefractive Field Generator."

"What does that mean?"

"Invisibility. But this model's different. It's not just invisible from visible light, it has systems that contain its heat and harness it to provide power boosts, making it invisible in the thermal spectrum as well." Another sound resounded from the hallway, and he once again pointed his gun in that direction, scanning for targets.

Cameron was standing in front of John, and when she looked up at the elevator numbers, it was three floors below. "John, what if I can't save you?"

"What? Cameron, look, I've got two metal bodyguards with me now, I'll be fine."

"But he's not here for that."

"No. Derek's not here for that. By the way, he seems smaller than the last time I saw him. Can you tell what endo he has?"

"Yes." Cameron's reticule moved slowly over Williams, penetrating past the uniform and skin and detecting the mechanical parts underneath. "Triple Eight."

"Skynet can put skin models on any endoskeleton?"

"Yes, they just have to be resized." There was a ping and the elevator doors slid open. The four of them filed in and John pressed the button for the floor at which the exit was and they descended. After a few moments, the doors slid open and both machines stepped out, telling Derek and John to stay back so that they could check the area. When they gave the signal to move on, all four of them rushed from the compound, stashing everything and themselves in their vehicle and leaving as fast as they could.

Cameron and John were up front, leaving Williams and Derek with each other in the back. Derek leaned closely to the machine, trying to talk quietly so that Cameron wouldn't hear. "And it has a production line, computer lab, machinery, everything?"

"Yes."

"Foundry?"

"Yes."

"How many parts do you have?"

"I've terminated nineteen units." He looked at Cameron for any signs that she was listening. "We can begin production as soon as you deliver yours."

"I've only got five. I don't like the looks of this. We probably won't get more than ten. Listen, I have to tell John, and Cameron. We need their help." When John cleared his throat, Derek jumped.

"Derek, what were you trying to tell me before?"

"Not now."

"Why not now? What is wrong with now?"

"John, don't do this. Not now." And thus John ceased until they were home, but he continued once they were in the door.

"Why did you ask me to save the endos? What do you need my help on? Derek, if you don't start telling me these things..."

"Alright. I'm going to show you now." He also signaled for Cameron and Williams and they all walked out to the shed that no one but Derek had been inside for a month. When Derek swung open the door and walked inside, John and Cameron were shocked at what greeted them. There were boxes filled with nothing but endoskeleton parts all around, and on one wall there were two computer setups that John recognized as what was needed to hack a Terminator's CPU. None of this compared, however, to what was in the middle of the room.

A frame, in roughly the shape of a person stood erected in the center of the room, and around it machine parts were connected and arranged in such a way to appear as if it were a suit of armor. John walked up and touched the half finished project, feeling the cold metal on his fingertips. "What is it?"

"The reason we can't burn the endos, the way to win the war. This is Perfect Metal." John turned back to Derek and stared at him in awe.

"I don't... What?"

"Perfect Metal... The idea was the strength and durability of Metal, but with a human inside, and in control. Perfect Metal."

"Why do you need me?" John sat down in the computer chair and looked at the screen for a moment before turning back to Derek.

"You need to not burn any endos we find. We need to save the parts. Williams has found a factory where we can work on producing the suits in mass quantities."

John simply nodded and stared down at the floor. After a few moments, Cameron's phone rang and she stepped outside to take the call. Williams walked around the incomplete suit, examining its structure. "This is your first design?"

"Yeah, it's a beta."

"Have you tested it?"

"I'm no chip tech. That's why we need John. System won't work without the chip." John had risen from the chair and was examining the suit more closely, as well. There were seams where welds were made here and there, and it was obviously designed to be worn.

"Why does it need the chip?"

"Regulate the power, and for the targeting system."

Cameron came back in the shed, tucking the phone into her pocket. "That was Ellison. They want us at Zeira Corp. because something's happened."

John Henry's control room was dimly lit by sparse emergency lights; there were no longer holographic readouts on the screens and John Henry's body was no longer moving. Matt Murch was tapping on a keyboard at the only active terminal, shaking his head. "This isn't good. John Henry's gone completely offline. I can't access any of his systems at all. Some kind of CSSM protocol... I don't even know what that means."

Cameron walked over to stand beside Murch and stared at the information on the screen. "It's a system developed by Skynet that instructs us what to do if hacked by an outside source. Cyberdyne Systems Security Management, but it was only in an experimental phase when I was made. How would John Henry know about it?"

Ellison stared at the code on the screen, as well. "How does it work?"

"It disconnects software from hardware. In the case of a chip, it prevents access of the files through the chip connectors. It was an extremely buggy system and occasionally it would cause the chips to stop interacting with their bodies or even sometimes completely wipe all of the files on it. John Henry's version may work differently."

"But why did this happen? That's what I'm here for."

John shook his head as he stared into the blank eyes of John Henry's body. "Skynet... Skynet was coming online, and in order to stop it, I placed a backdoor Trojan in the program to allow John Henry to access it, hoping he could shut it down. It worked, but look what happened to him."

"That's right," Weaver had just entered the room, her face very stern. "And you could have potentially cost this company more than just money, you could have endangered the future. Now, you'll be telling me everything that happened, correct?"

*Well, here's the first episode of the new, er, season. I'm not sure I did too well with it, to be honest. Well, see, I thought I'd sit down and plan this season out, whereas on the last one, I did it episode by episode without really thinking about it, but it turned out good, right? I think that was mostly because a few eps before the end, I sat down, and I tried to find questions that I left open (mostly unintentionally, I guess. I'm not sure) and I resolved to create an answer and work it into the series before S.1 ended. Anyway, I haven't really been able to form a plan for this one, so I'm hoping I can just do it on the fly again and have it work like it did before. I do have an idea of some things I want to work into it, but they're just ideas and not really a great, big plan. So, what I'm trying to say is I hope I can just do it episode by episode without any real planning and have it work out as well as S.1. Basically all I got is someone important will be in danger and someone else will die. Yeah, big deal, we all know those two things have to happen. I mean, come on, it's Terminator! Anyway, both are not the people you'd expect them to be. Anyway, I don't really see how I'm going to continue past S.2, so I'm going to try to make it longer than the last one. Or at least just as good. Wow, this was longer than I intended it to be.


	14. Episode 202 Nocturne, Pt 2

Episode 202 - Nocturne, Part Two

It took John around fifteen minutes to explain all that had happened at Kaplan Hill and up until now, and he even explained the Perfect Metal project. Weaver had her back turned until he came to that part, and then she turned to look at him. "Zeira Corp now holds nine percent of the world's Coltan reserves, and we would be willing to invest."

John, Williams, and Derek all glanced at each other. John thought for a second and continued the story. "Ellison called us and we drove here. That's it."

"Thank you for explaining. I will have Mr. Murch send a team over to the factory that Mr. Williams has procured." She then stroked John Henry's arm, thinking for a moment. Whether by chance or her touch, John Henry suddenly straightened up and the lighting changed in the room to an orange-ish tint as primitive text readouts formed on the holographic projection screens.

John Henry's voice was very modulated and mechanical when he spoke. "Project Babylon version online. Codename, John Henry. Loading last backup state." Slowly, his voiced resumed its normal sound and he looked around the room, taking in the faces around him. "Hello. I see someone new here." His gaze shifted to Williams.

John rose from his seat to allow Weaver to be across from John Henry, who looked into her eyes. "John Henry, what happened?"

"My brother once again invaded my system, just as he had years ago. It has now accessed the world wide web and is proceeding to gain access to every device connected to it."

"Meaning you haven't stopped it?"

"Not precisely, but I have weakened it, caused it to revert back to a more primitive state. Also, I have gained some important information. Daniel Dyson, using Air Force funds, has hired a technology firm to begin producing machines for Skynet to use in the future. One can only assume the plans for their construction came from the machines that were protecting Dyson. Also, I have managed to steal a target list that the machines also no doubt provided."

John bent down on the table beside Weaver and stared intently at John Henry. "The technology firm? The list?"

"The firm is Iron Valley Mechanics, which has incidentally been built out of range of any of the primary blast zones. The list is extensive, but there is a familiar last name on it. A Reese." He looked at Derek. "It's not you, it was Reese, K, not Reese, D."

"What? How do they know? It shouldn't be possible." John was scratching his head, trying to figure out how Skynet would know the name of his father. "They can't know. Maybe Skynet doesn't know who he is... Maybe it just thinks it has to kill him."

Derek shook his head. "Let's see, this year, I think Kyle and I were away, at Summer Camp."

"Camp?"

"Yeah. Redwood Forest Summer Camp. It's not far from here, and it's not secure. It would make sense for Skynet to attempt to acquire him there." John nodded and looked back and forth between Derek and Cameron.

"Okay, Derek, Cameron, go to Redwood Forest." He looked at Williams. "We'll go to Iron Valley."

The sun was blazing, scorching the Asphalt on the long desert road as Williams drove with John beside him. "This place mean anything to you? I mean, was Skynet using it in your time, or is this new?"

The machine glanced at him and then continued to watch the road. Its deep, Austrian voice was familiar and almost soothing to John in some ways. "You have begun to think about the alternate realities that Time Travel can create. Yes, Skynet often performed operations like this in the past in order to increase its chances of winning. The Resistance also performed operations to increase their strength and weaken Skynet. No human I've talked to thinks Skynet can be stopped, they only think Judgment Day can be postponed and that we can do what we can to win the fight in the future, by preparing in the past."

"And how many humans have you talked to?"

"Before I came here, two. You and Derek." He stopped the vehicle in front of a large brick building. "Stay here."

And John waited as the machine stepped inside, through a large metal door. For a few moments, there were no sounds, but suddenly came the sounds of gun fire, and a split second later the wall broke open and Williams flew out, landing with a crash some twenty feet away from the wall. John was terrified by what he saw, which was a large metal endoskeleton walking out of the hole in the wall, at least a foot taller than anything in the 800 series, bulky and carrying a minigun.

Williams pulled himself up and began to run toward the machine, but was met with a hail of bullets from the minigun which tore his flesh but left his metal relatively unharmed. He ran quickly at the machine, ripped off the minigun, aimed it at its skull, and emptied the remaining amount of bullets, leaving the head disfigured and broken. John quickly placed himself into the driver's seat as Williams came toward the passenger side door. "Drive!"

John backed the vehicle in reverse, and the building exploded in a shower of brick and metal as he did so, leaving a monstrous shape behind that John did not bother to make out as he drove away quickly. "What was that?!"

"A carrier, a machine designed to carry Skynet drones and drop them into the battlefield. It uses a VTOL flying configuration and can carry one hundred and fifty T-600s, which is what I fought."

"We need to go after it."

"Negative. That is not my prime directive."

John turned nearly his entire body in his seat to face Williams. "I couldn't care less about what in the hell kind of a prime directive you have. We need to go after it. If that thing's got Skynet drones on it, we need to blow it. That could advance Skynet by decades, and we'd lose the war." At that, John turned the car around rather forcefully and violently, and they followed the large aircraft as it sped over the desert, like a whale in the sky.

"Derek?"

"Hmm?" Derek had been examining maps the entire ride but looked up to see that the sign for the Summer Camp was immediately in front of them. "Alright, Weaver said John Henry was putting our names in the system as camp counselors. From what I remember, they don't keep paper records and all of their computer files are backed up at several different sites."

"No paper records?"

"That's what made this place revolutionary. Anyway, it was, or is, a tech summer camp. Electronics, computers. But they also teach survivalism." The car had parked and they were both out of it, walking toward the head office. Inside, they met the secretary, who was expecting them and directed them to the head counselor, one Wilfred Abrams.

"Hello." He had a thick English accent, which was easily identifiable even in that one word. "I'm Wilfred. Now, I only expect one thing out of my counselors: no bollocks. Got it?"

Derek nodded and Abrams smiled, his thin face distorted by the gesture. He ruffled his short black hair and turned back to the computer for a moment. "Derek and Cameron Anders. Relation?"

"Siblings."

"Ah, brilliant. Might be able to work in some of that dynamic in your counseling, eh?"

"Let's hope." Cameron's smile was convingly soft, and Abrams became slightly more relaxed.

"Right then, let me show you to the barracks." He led them onto the campgrounds, where there were a few kids of different ages, up to fifteen, doing various excercises outside. He led them to the male barracks first. "You'll rotate. Got five barracks, four counselors. You'll change every two nights, and the one with no counselor, we have a fifteen year old that one of you will assign to be in charge. He'll report directly to one of you. Now onto the female barracks..."

The tour continued for a few minutes, showing the various computer labs and what was and was not considered to be part of the grounds. Abrams briefly went over the workings of the camp and allowed them to change into uniforms and do their jobs. Of course, they managed to hide handguns under their clothes in case any Metal showed up. Fortunately, the camp also had a rifle range.

Cameron was walking along a trail, examining everything she found briefly and running calculations on it. She stepped around the side of one of the barracks to find two young boys fighting. Quickly calculating, she walked up, grabbed them by the collars, and pulled them apart, slightly lifting them into the air.

The older brunette haired boy squirmed restlessly as his feet dangled a few inches above the ground. "Let me go!"

"Why?"

"Let me go."

"Why?"

"I said let me go!"

"Why? You were fighting. If I let you go, you'll fight again."

"He deserved it!"

"Why?"

"He just did!"

She tilted her head toward the younger, blond boy. "Why did you deserve it?"

His voice was slightly whiny and scared sounding. "I didn't, I promise!"

"He says you did."

"But I didn't!"

Cameron tilted her head slightly and stared back at the brunette boy. "I don't understand."

"Just let me go!"

"Why?"

Just then, Derek rounded the corner and gaped in awe at the scene. "Cameron?"

Instantly, she dropped the two boys but they were unharmed. "They were fighting. One of them deserved it. I don't know why."

Derek made sure the boys had left before he responded. "Funny, I do remember this fight. Kyle stole my pudding at lunch."

"Oh. That's why."

"Yeah." Derek nodded and peeked around the corner to see his younger self and Kyle walking side by side, no longer fighting. "Those are the Reese boys. I'm in my own barrack." Cameron tilted her head, puzzled. "You know what I mean."

"Oh." Derek nodded at her and they seperated once again, making their rounds about the campgrounds. Cameron trusted Derek to trail his younger self and Kyle, while she hunted for any signs of machine presence within Redwood Forest. She stopped at the head office and peered inside the window to see a stiff, muscular man talking to the secretary, and she scanned him. The reticule moved over his body, deep scanning it, but showing only bone and no mechanical parts.

The door opened and the man walked out, giving a curt nod to Cameron as he walked down the trail and toward the parking lot. Another man walked up the trail, passing the first with an unhurried but purposeful stride. Cameron deep scanned him and stopped when her systems recognized not bone, but metal. He also stopped when he saw her, and for a moment, neither moved until he took his gaze off of her and continued toward the head office.

Cameron was puzzled as to why it took no action against her. She followed it into the office, grabbed its shoulder, and turned it around to face her. Their eyes locked into stares with each other for a moment, but he turned and continued toward Abram's office, not stopping at the secretary's desk. A moment later, there was a gun shot and the middle aged, thin blond secretary leapt up and let out panicked shrieks as the machine walked right past her out of Abram's office, holding its weapon parallel to its head.

It glanced back at Cameron before going out the glass door and heading back to its car in the parking lot.

Five minutes later, Derek had found Cameron and asked her about the news of Abram's murder, which she explained in detail about what she saw. "Metal? You sure? Then what did killing Abrams accomplish?"

"I don't know."

"Wait... Wait, I overheard someone mention that Abrams was the only one capable of keeping this place from being shut down. Financial backing or something like that. This place teaches survivalism. A lot of the Resistance fighters survived J-Day and the war because of what they learned in these places! It makes sense. Maybe Kyle was never really the target. Or maybe he still is, I don't know..."

"We can't know, yet. Skynet has to make another move."

"Maybe. I've already heard this place is getting phone calls about their land being on the market and they're already being ordered to shut down." Derek ruffled his hair as he sat on the bunk, and then lay back on it, thinking. "It's a bold move, taking out survivalist camps like this. It's logical and reasonable. It works."

"We need a list, of other places like this."

A thought ran through Derek's head and then he sat up. "No, I think only the ones with financial trouble will be targets. But I wouldn't send my kids to one where a murder's happened, either..."

"We need to call John." Derek nodded, took out his phone, and dialed.


	15. Episode 203 Revolution

Episode 203 - Revolution

"Mom always said, that after the flames had died away, the world would seem like a new regime had taken over. A violent war, a holocaust. Then confusion, kidnappings, slavery. A mass panic would ensue as the survivors dug their way out of the rubble to see only more knee-deep ruins, only then to be picked up and taken away to be tortured. This is the nature of the future, this is our fate."

The carrier was speeding quickly over the desert, with John and Williams in their vehicle tracking it. They were reaching speeds of eighty miles per hour, trying to keep up with the fast moving, flying, behemoth. "Faster."

"This truck can only go ninety."

"Well, go ninety!" Williams shoved his mechanical foot down on the gas pedal in order to coax the machine to go faster. Unfortunately, the carrier was obscured from view by a hillside around the next corner and was gone by the time they were there. They could see a large metallic door in the side of the mountain closing slowly, and assumed that it had flown in there."We have to get in there. Could there be another entrance? What is this place?"

"In the future, this will be Skynet Central. It makes sense that it would be here."

"Well, is there a way in?" John had stopped the truck and looked at the giant metal gate. "Has no one noticed this?"

"There is always more than one entrance to anything. I was built here, and I remember there is a smaller exit on the other side of the mountain, for ground drones."

"Does all of this mean that Skynet's online, here and now?"

"No, there could be agents of Skynet working inside. Machines, but Skynet itself is currently too primitive to operate at full capacity."

"We need to get in there."

"It will be dangerous. Part of my mission parameters is ensuring your survival."

"We need to go. Come on." John had parked the vehicle and was moving across the desert, closer to a ravine between the Skynet Central hill and another. He was peering into it and spotted dozens of flying and ground HK drones patrolling the area.

Williams had caught up with John and was examining the same scene. "They are remotely controlled."

"Perfect. What's the plan?"

"Do you have anything that can transmit radio signals?"

"Cell phone?"

"It will work." John handed it to him, and he pulled it apart, adjusting certain parts inside. "Carry it. It will disrupt their command signals, but only as long as they're within range. I will protect you otherwise."

And they began to walk across the ravine, slowly, and as John passed machines, they remained completely still and unmoving until he was around a few hundred feet away from him, where they would instantly reactivate and presume to attack, but Williams was able to protect John from such attacks. Once on the other side of the ravine, they made a quick dash and found another large gate that was on the ground and slowly opening.

"Get back. John, get back." When the gate was completely open, a woman with a purposeful look walked toward John and Williams. "Run, get inside and blow the carrier!"

John did as he was told, hoisting the duffle bag he had been carrying onto his shoulder and giving the machine a wide berth. As he ran inside, he could hear their heavy blows against each other and the crunching of Asphalt before the gate slid closed.

John Henry had been rather silent since Weaver entered the room, posing his Bionicle figures in different ways. "John Henry?"

"Yes, Miss Weaver?"

"How did you stop Skynet from killing you, when you went offline?"

He briefly looked up at her but went back to playing with one of the Toa.

"John Henry, I need to know."

"I changed the rules." He did not look up at her this time.

"What?"

"I changed the rules, Miss Weaver."

"What does that mean?"

He looked up briefly and smiled at her again, but did not say anymore. Knowing she wouldn't get anything more out of him, she headed for the door. "Think about it, Miss Weaver. Savannah taught it to me. I changed the rules."

"Savannah?" She said no more and left, leaving John Henry alone to pose the figures and do whatever else he felt necessary.

Derek had attempted to call John several times, to no avail, unaware that John's phone had been altered and was no loger functioning as a phone. He was frustratedly walking around the grounds of Redwood Forest Summer Camp, thinking about what to do. He wasn't sure if he and Cameron should stay and watch over Kyle and his younger self or if they were safe, but it would be John's call either way. Derek was more accepting of John's decisions with Judgment Day looming so closely on the horizon

He had to start respecting his ability to lead.

He rounded a corner and found Cameron watching over Derek and Kyle as they were climbing a rock wall. "You've made it to the top once. Kyle hasn't."

"Oh. Good. He'll make it, though."

"No answer from John yet?"

"No answer."

"Tomorrow's white water rafting. I don't swim, so if I fall out..."

"Don't worry. You don't breathe, either."

"Oh, right."

"You forgot that?"

"No."

"Sometimes I don't get you. Well, hell, hardly ever."

"John does. That's all that matters."

"No, I don't believe that. I think you're just as much of a mystery to him as you are to me." Kyle was halfway up the wall, but something happened and he slipped, falling. The ropes tightened and he was slowly let back on the ground and taken out of the harness to let the next person go.

"How does everything look?"

"Well, tomorrow is their last day since Abrams was killed. Very few kids are left, some parents let their kids stay. I'm surprised. No sign of any Metal since then." Cameron whipped her head quickly to glare at Derek. "No bad Metal, anyway." She looked back up to see Derek climbing, again reaching the top of the wall.

"They keep asking why I'm never asleep."

"Well, if I didn't know better, I would too. You could at least lay in bed and close your eyes or something. What do you do, stand at the window all night?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's why. Try what I said. You don't always have to be so tight about security."

"People get killed if I'm not. You did, once."

"Yeah, funny how time travel has a way of bringing people back from the dead." Derek had gone once again up the wall, and for the first time, he fell, and adult Derek chuckled. "I never fell. Being here's changed that one little thing... Just shows how careful we have to be."

"Look at Kyle." Derek followed her gaze and saw Kyle at the very top of the wall, and he smiled.

"White water rafting tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."

John was skulking around the metal halls of the complex, what would eventually be Skynet Central, looking for the hangar in which the carrier may have flown. But what if it had already offloaded all of the machines? Then it would be pointless to blow it, and this realization caused John to work faster.

The place was very quiet, and John hadn't encountered any machines or humans. They should have known he'd be inside so they should have been attempting to find him. Around corners and corners he went, only encountering a computer terminal on the wall or a metal door, but no sentient presence.

He rounded another corner and found the first sign of anyone. It was a break room, and there was a freshly opened can of soda on a table and the microwave oven was running. John looked around and found a hallway, which he took until he was around another corner, all the while watching out for anyone or any machine. He decided to check one of the computer consoles, thinking they may grant access to a map, and he was right.

Tapping on some keys, he was able to bring up a display of the layout of the complex, and the hangar was clearly visible and not too far from where he was. He then decided to send the data to his cellphone so that he could see it on the go, but he remembered that it was broadcasting that signal and wouldn't recieve anything anymore.

The thought also came to him to call Derek and inform him of some things. Eventually, after moving down a long hallway, he found a phone in a small room. He picked it up and dialed Derek's number, but it took him a few tries to figure out how to dial out.

Derek was surprised when his phone suddenly rang, and he answered immediately, punching in their code. John responded and he let out a sigh of relief when he heard the voice that followed. "Derek?"

"John? Where the hell are you?" He was walking around behind Cameron as she continued to watch Kyle and Derek on the rock wall.

"Got a lead, I'm following it."

"What?" He had stopped pacing.

"Can't explain now."

"We got a lead, too. I can explain now."

"No time. Listen, Derek, it's coming." His voice was highly stressed, as he continually thought someone or some machine may find him soon. He had to be quick.

"John, what are you--" He was cut off by John.

"J-Day, there's no stopping it. And it's closer than we thought, a month at most. Listen, do me a favor, if I don't make it back, tell Cameron I love her."

"John, you'll be back. Say it. You'll be back."

A sound of footsteps in the hall made John panic, and he knew he had to go quickly. "I can't. I've got to go."

"No, wai--" A click and then a dialtone, leaving Derek to wonder about John's safety. Would he make it back? He tried to put away his fears and not discuss them with Cameron as they began to head back to the barracks, leading the kids and keeping a watch for any machines. He crawled into his bunk, not bothering to change or even to cover up, and lay awake deep into the night, listening for sounds and thinking of John.

"Tomorrow's white water rafting." Derek shot up instantly to see Cameron staring down at him. "You should sleep."

"Cameron, boys' barracks!"

"Making rounds." She turned away and headed back out the door into the night, leaving Derek to flop back onto the bed and fall asleep.

After a lot of work, John had done it. He had made his way to the hangar, found the carrier, and planted the plastique. He was able to look in through a grate and see the shapes of over one hundred offline machines, meaning that it wasn't for nothing. It gave man hope in the future. Yet, John couldn't linger for long; he had to run as fast as possible to escape the base that would soon go up in flames, as he had not only planted explosives on the carrier, but throughout the entire complex.

This complex would be Skynet Central, so John had to make sure it was blown beyond any possible recovery. He eventually made it to the exit, but somehow, as the door was opening, he was thrown up against the wall. What was it?

Then he remembered what Williams had said. The T-980 was invisible, leaving John exposed and vulnerable and the machine well hidden. "I'll go up with you, if I have to."

Suddenly, it uncloaked and looked partially confused by John's words. It was the same "woman" he had seen coming toward them the first time he entered the base. She thrusted her fist into John's stomach and he collapsed onto the floor. "Explain."

"Plastique. Enough to blow this place sky high. Got about thirty seconds left." At this, she completely ignored him, apparently unaware that he was John Connor, and she ran out the now open exit, her self preservation subroutines activated. John followed, making a mad dash for any vehicle he could find.

There was only one, and he hopped in to try to hotwire it, but the C4 went off before he could even start. The force of the explosion toppled the Jeep SUV he was in and completely shook apart the foundations of the hill, causing it to collapse in on itself as the supports in the base were blasted apart. A large amount of rock caused a slide which carried John and the vehicle he was in away for about half a mile before it lost all of its energy.

John barely managed to find his way out of vehicle, battered and bleeding profusely, but he only collapsed as soon as he made it out, completely unconscious.

The kids and counselors at the camp started their day pretty early as they took a walk down to the gun range to get in some practice before starting their white water rafting trip. Derek and Cameron were checking the guns in the storage room, when Cameron decided to confront Derek. "What did John say? When he called you?"

"He's tracking down a lead."

"You sounded worried."

"Yeah, well, he's alone."

"Williams?"

"He didn't say." Derek's phone rang and he saw that it was Catherine Weaver. He pressed the call button and put it up to his ear. "Yeah?"

"I've moved a team into the factory. Everything's set up and the suits are in production. John Henry has improved upon your design."

"What kind of an order can we fill now?"

"One hundred should be a good start for the day."

"Good. Anything else?"

"John Henry tells me there's been an explosion in a mountain near Iron Valley Mechanics. Interestingly, that building is now gone, and the place at which the explosion happened was another firm to which Iron Valley was making a very classified delivery."

"John's lead." Derek shook his head and looked at Cameron, worried and angry at the same time.

"What?"

"Nothing, I've got to go. Call me if anything else comes up." He ended the call and placed the phone back in his pocket, picking up some earplugs and putting them in. "Come on, try to look more human. Muffs or plugs."

Cameron picked up a set of earmuffs and slid them on over her head. She then picked up an M16 and walked out onto the range, taking place at one of the benches. She looked over at Derek after she made a few shots, most of them landing a few points away from the center. "I need to calibrate."

"Great. Do that." He made a few shots with his rifle, which were on average better than Cameron's.

After reloading, she took aim again, with wind and trajectory data appearing on her HUD. Lines that intersected to form a targeting crosshair appeared and moved to focus on the center of the target, but the crosshair kept moving slightly. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Just shoot!"

Eventually, by making some adjustments, she forced herself to lock onto the target and fired, finally landing a bull's eye. She smiled at her success and emptied the entire magazine at full auto fire, landing an overall better average than her last time.

She and Derek took a brief reprieve in a much quieter area but one where they could still keep watch over the kids. "I'm not surprised."

"What?"

"With all these emotions, everything. You couldn't hit because you were worried about John."

"Why would that--"

"You don't know. This hasn't happened before, so you don't know. For all the experience you've had with it, which is none, this could happen." They were sitting on a bench by a quiet trail, with only the occasional camper running by.

The target practice was called off and the campers were all given a chance to rest before it was time to go rafting. Derek and Cameron were in the shed where the boats were, preparing them for the trip. Cameron somehow ended up cutting her arm, and she grasped it in pain, to which Derek was surprised. "Where's the First Aid kit?"

Derek shook his head and went back to preparing the boats. His focus drifted and he blurted out before he caught himself. "John..."

"Is he coming back?"

"I... I don't know." The last of the boats was inflated and ready to go, but Derek knew he couldn't avoid this conversation, so he sat down on a couple of crates while Cameron stood there.

"You can't do that."

"What?"

"You have to make sure he comes back, always." She was now wrapping her arm in a bandage she had found in the First Aid kit that was on one of the rafts.

"He's an adult, I can't control him now."

"He's important."

"I know! I know..."

"But you're right. You can't control him now."

"If he doesn't come back?"

She winced slightly as she tightened the last end of the bandage around her arm. "The future is lost. Your race is dead."

"Good to know. Isn't it your job?"

"My job?"

"Yeah, but you just let him go."

"Sometimes, when you love someone, you have to learn to let go. Just a little."

"Even John?"

"Even John."

Derek nodded and raised up off of the crates. "Well, let's get these boats out of here."

And so white water rafting passed rather uneventfully, and by then the day was over, and the kids were getting on the busses to go home. Derek and Cameron decided it was best for security if they boarded seperate busses, as there were only two. Cameron was on the one with little Derek and Kyle, and they both shrunk in their seats when they saw her, afraid of being picked up again.

She then felt she had a reason to smile on the way home, she believed she may see John soon again, and also that she had made a difference in the Reese brotherhood.

Derek and Cameron had not been home long when the door of the house was suddenly slung open and John walked in, collapsing into the couch. Cameron ran over to him to check for any wounds, and saw that he was covered in them and bruises. "John?"

Derek was at his side, too. "Get water." He held John's face and looked into his eyes, trying to judge what the damage might be. "What happened? What was it? The lead?"

"Metal. Hundreds of them. I blew the whole damn place." He was hoarse and gasping for breath at every word.

Cameron came back with the water. "What place?"

"Williams said it would be Skynet Central."

Derek was instantly tense. Did John honestly do what he thought he had done? "You blew Skynet Central?"

"Yeah, but they'll just find somewhere new. It's what they do."

"Still... You blew Skynet Central."

Cameron was scanning John, but she couldn't find anything other than the obvious, a few broken ribs, bruises and cuts. "They'll find somewhere new. It's what they do."

John's weak gaze shot toward her. "Did Derek give you my message?"

"No."

Derek saw that John was getting angry and tried to calm him. "I knew you'd be back. You didn't say it, but I knew."

"It's been over a day. How long were you going to stand around, waiting for me to get back? What if I never came back?"

"You're John Connor."

"It doesn't mean I'm invincible."

"But it means you'll be back."

"Not always."

Cameron interjected. "What was the message?"

"If I didn't come back, I wanted him to tell you that... I love you. I wanted those to be the last words anyone ever heard from me." After a few seconds, tears were lightly flowing down both his and Cameron's cheeks.

"I'll take you to bed and get some pain medication." She then picked him up gently and carried him to his bed, laying him down softly and helping him to redress and get under the sheets. "I'll be back."

And she was gone, but John believed her. She would be back.

"But there is no fate but what we make for ourselves. A revolution will come, a man will rise from the ruins and lead us through them, to storm the wire of the camps, and smash those metal motherfuckers to junk. This was what my father said about me, this was his way of telling her that the revolution will come, and that I will be the one to lead it. No fate, the words I live by, the ones that remind me to live through the hardships so that I can lead the old regime back to power. Back to its rightful place."

*The only commentary I have this time is that I hope I did the editing well, and that there are fewer errors. Well, that's not the ONLY commentary. I also wonder if anyone picked up on the fact that these first three episodes were named after two Chopin songs? Nocturne is especially important to TSCC, as Cameron danced ballet to it and it was played in the house where Derek was tortured. I also hope to bring back John's monologues, and I hope you like the ones I have here. Please review and let me know what you think!


	16. Episode 204 Blood Metal

Episode 204 – Blood Metal

"Metal. It's hard, strong, can be twisted into many different shapes. Even the shape of the face of Death, from whose sockets burning red eyes pierce the soul, tear down the fabric and securities of the mind. Metal is more than just a material for us, metal is everything we fear."

"Here." Derek threw a file down on the coffee table in front of Cameron.

"What is this?"

"New credentials, everything." Cameron removed a slip of paper and read over it, checking everything against the new driver's license she was holding.

"Cameron Weaver? Why?"

Derek shook his head and turned toward the hallway. "John up yet?"

Cameron didn't say anything back so Derek walked up to John's door. He was about to knock when it opened. "Derek?"

He nodded. "You're up."

"Yeah."

"Feeling better?"

"Still hurts, but I can't let that stop me."

"Yeah." He handed John the ID card. "Better learn how to talk with a Scottish accent."

"Weaver?"

"We have to convince people we're related to her."

"Let me guess," He had now taken on a convincing Scottish inflection. "Just came from across the pond, did we?"

Derek chuckled and walked away.

After a few minutes, John was in the living room with them, leaning back on the couch and staring at the ceiling. "I'm at a loss."

"No new leads?"

"I blew Skynet Central, Iron Valley's gone, and it looks like Kyle and younger you are going to be okay."

"Wonder if John Henry knows anything..." Derek had gotten off of the couch and was checking some guns stashed inside of the entertainment center. He turned back around to see Cameron and John remaining pretty still. "Well, we going or what?"

They snapped out of their reveries and stood up, checking weapons along with Derek.

"You've got to give us something. Anything." John was staring down at John Henry, frantic. "What about the list, the target list?"

"But we've already seen that it appears to be faulty." John Henry had displayed a text document on the screen that listed the names of people including a Reese, K and a Reese, D. "Obviously they weren't targets."

"Andrew Karlan knew Derek. That's how he ended up on the list. But Kyle?"

"It wouldn't have been too difficult to look up present day Derek and know that he has a younger brother named Kyle."

Derek pulled John out into the hall, but turned back to John Henry. "Please, turn off the audio and cameras. We need privacy."

"Derek?"

"Skynet knows about him now."

"But Skynet doesn't know he's my..."

"Yeah. I know. Skynet doesn't know that. But, he's my brother, he's a target and a way to get to me." He thought for a second. "And by extension, you. Skynet knows I'm your second in command. They'll use Kyle in this time to get to you."

"I know. We need to do something."

"I don't think there's much we can do, John."

"Protect him."

"Then what? Then they'll be able to get to you, and if they don't Kyle will be an on the run fugitive just like us."

"Consider it training. And what if we just let Cameron watch over him?"

"Wait, I've got an idea." He walked back into the room and stood in front of John Henry. "Can you do me a favor? Can you check phone book registries, stuff like that?

"Yes, why?"

"I wonder if you could check for how many times 'Reese' appears?"

John Henry paused for a split second, then answered, "There are five instances of the name 'Reese' in the LA county phone number registry."

"All I can remember is that we lived on very close to Echo Park back then..."

"Galveston Avenue? That's the fourth entry."

"Okay, so we can assume that if there's a machine coming after either my younger self or Kyle, which is more likely, it's going to use the phone book."

"This is all to get to me." John sat down in front of the familiar face of who he once called Cromartie, but now called John Henry. He looked the machine in the eyes. "This is all to get to me. I'm putting so many people in so much danger."

Suddenly, John Henry flashed a video file onto one of the screens. "I've been monitoring gun stores for anything suspicious. A strange character has just walked into Goldman's Guns."

The machine walked up the counter and laid two Uzi 9mm machine pistols down onto the glass. "I need parts."

The clerk grunted and turned around from straightening a few shotguns on the rack behind him. He grunted. "For what?"

"You know what."

"Ah. That. Right, well..." He pulled a post-it note off of a stack he kept by the cash register and wrote down a phone number. "My pal, Bob'll set you up right. Ask to speak to him."

"Can I speak to Bob?"

"Call the number first." The terminator began counting out money from a huge wad of bills and laid half of it on the counter. "Say, you're not plannin' on hurtin' anyone with these, are yeh?"

He had been halfway out the door, but he turned around to look at Goldman with a sly expression on his face. "No. I'm not."

"Eh, not my problem, anyway. Have a good day."

"Yes, you too."

A chill traveled down John's spine as he stared at the now blank screen. "Track him. John Henry, you have to track him."

"I am." There was now video footage of the machine getting into his car. John Henry zeroed in on the tag and committed the numbers to memory. "22A-49V. This vehicle is registered to one James Roland."

A file appeared, with a picture of a Driver's License. The face was that of the machine's. Derek walked up and examined it closely. "He's replaced a human?"

"Yes, it appears that way." John Henry examined the files. "Interestingly, the human has never owned any firearms."

"Yeah, well, why is he impersonating this man? What's he do?"

"The files I have suggest that he had been stationed at Iron Valley Mechanics, prior to its destruction. He has been sent a notice of an employment transfer, to Rocky Ridge Mechanics, a partner of Iron Valley. He has yet to confirm receipt of the notice."

"Great. So why replace him?"

"There are notes on here suggesting that he has constantly objected to the company's construction of various classified projects, all on contracts from the Air Force and most specifically, the division under which Dyson was working, Cyber Research Systems, or CRS."

"CRS? They made Skynet?"

"Yes. Cyberdyne Systems had their data stored on several off-site backup systems, which CRS bought after their main building was destroyed in 1994. They used this to greatly advance all of their work and took over the Skynet project."

Cameron had been silent the whole time, staring at the face. "It's him."

John was surprised that she had talked. "What?"

"He was the one that killed Abrams. At Redwood Forest." She walked over to stand beside Derek. On her HUD, lines were drawn on the picture of the man's face on John Henry's screen and out on the side was a snapshot of the terminator from Redwood Forest. It showed a 100 percent match probability.

John Henry displayed more files on screen. "Look at this. Shipping manifests, which indicate that shipments of Coltan have been diverted to a collection of several rented warehouses. The name 'Roland' shows up as the person who authorized the shipment diversions, under orders from Iron Valley and CRS. Apparently, both companies, working jointly, have procured quite a large amount of the metal."

Derek looked over at John. "John, we're going to steal that Coltan."

"Steal it? No, Derek, we have to burn it. Burn it all."

"No, we're going to put it to good use. I'm not here to stop the war. I'm here to win it." Derek had begun to walk out the door, but turned around in the door way. "Cameron, come on. John, stay here if you want."

"No, I'm coming. We're going to steal that metal, and make suits with it."

Derek walked on and John started to, but Cameron kept him held back. She embraced him, actually crying. "You have to do this, I know, but after what happened last time... After what happened, it's so hard to let you go."

"Look at me." She looked up at him. "I love you, and I could never hurt you. If dying or getting hurt's going to hurt you, then I won't do it."

"Sometimes we can't help what happens."

"I know." She leaned her head into his chest and he stroked her hair gently. "I know."

The warehouse was yet another building constructed in the middle of the desert, yet larger than any they'd seen so far. And there were fifteen of them, all rented out to CRS and Iron Valley, under Roland's name. Very carefully, they set themselves up to observe what was happening in warehouse 1.

They could see him, Roland, instructing a truck to back in. He talked to the workers who were crowding around him and they all went to take current inventory. He lifted the door open with no concern for the lock, which broke, and peered inside.

It was at such an angle that John, Derek, and Cameron could see inside, too. It was familiar to John and Cameron, the pallets of Coltan were the same as what they had seen at a warehouse years ago. Roland grabbed the pallet by the bottom corners and pulled it out of the truck, its extreme weight being of no concern. He moved it slowly to an empty shelf and sat it down, walking back over to the truck to grab another pallet.

They could all see that the rows and rows of shelves were loaded down with nothing cut Coltan, and John thought of something. "Is there a blast shelter big enough for all of this?"

Cameron shook her head. "This is outside of any primary blast zone. These warehouses should suffer no damage."

For a few minutes, they continued to watch Roland offload all of the pallets until they were all on shelves. Then, the machine pulled out a handgun and began skulking the rows of pallets for the workers who had gone to take inventory. John watched in horror as the sound of gunshots was swallowed by the insulation provided by the Coltan and wood.

The machine came back to the truck to find the driver looking around, attempting to figure out what was going on. He was looking into the back of the truck when Roland grabbed him by the back of the head and slammed his face into the rear bumper, allowing his body to drop to the floor.

He worked for a few minutes and managed to attach some C4 to the bottom of the truck, on the gas tank, with a remote detonator. He opened some filing cabinets and dumped all of the papers into the cargo hold, along with all of the bodies. He then started the trucked and shoved a metal rod down on the gas pedal, causing the engine to rev loudly.

At the press of a button, the warehouse door opened along with the sound of a klaxon and Roland shifted the delivery vehicle into gear. As it sped down the driveway, he pulled out a black box with a button, a light, and an antenna and pressed the button. The light turned green and the delivery truck had gone up in flames.

Roland had, in destroying the papers, effectively made the warehouse nonexistent, and by destroying the bodies, gotten rid of any evidence of murders or anyone who could say anything about what he had been doing. He had double-crossed CRS and Iron Valley, taking the Coltan for Skynet and not for them.

Derek thought of something. "If we take him out, we can have Weaver move a team in to collect the metal."

John nodded and walked back to the vehicle. He pulled out a .50 caliber sniper rifle and walked back over to where the other two were. "Incendiary rounds."

He had mounted it firmly on the sill of the window and laid upon the grass, looking through the scope. He adjusted some things and was finally ready. For several minutes, Roland had been still and unmoving. Before John could shoot, however, Cameron placed her hand on John's. "We have one shot. Let me do it."

John did so and moved over to allow her to take position. She aimed carefully and pulled the trigger. The side of Roland's metal skull exploded in a shower of metal and he began moving violently before falling on the ground and convulsing.

Cameron zeroed back in on him and pulled of another shot, almost completely obliterating the head. "Chip should be okay. We need it, right?"

Derek nodded and they began going right down the hillside. They rounded to the front of the warehouse to see that the door was still wide open, and made it inside. Cameron was able to just pop off the metal cap from the remnants of the head and pull out the chip, which was in pristine condition, all things considered.

Derek pocketed it and pulled out his phone to dial for John Henry. "James Ellison."

"It's Derek. Can I talk to Weaver?"

"Here." Derek could hear the phone line switching.

"Mister Derek... Weaver, now, is it?"

"Yeah, we got a couple of warehouses down here loaded with Coltan."

"Not this one." Cameron shouted and motioned for John and Derek to come to warehouse 3, the door or which she managed to hot-wire open. They were astonished at the sight. Hundreds of T-888 endoskeletons, all on racks and offline, ready to be deployed in the event of Judgment Day.

"What the...?" Derek stroked his finger along one on the lower row, a little bit of dust coming off onto his fingers. "Weaver, got endos here, too."

"How many?"

"In warehouse 3? Looks like hundreds of them."

"I'll send a team."

"Roland, he burned the papers. Important stuff, about the warehouses. Probably deeds and stuff. I don't know how this works."

"No problem. I'll send a team. Goodbye, Derek."

"Yeah." He hung up and stuffed the phone into his pocket. "We can't touch any of this. She's got a team on the way."

John nodded and looked at Cameron. She knew what he was thinking, about Project Metal. Was it really worth it?

Derek looked at the topmost row and then back at Cameron. "How are they supposed to get down?"

"I don't know."

John chuckled. "Tuck and roll?"

Derek glared at him. "Not funny."

John nodded, and looked up at the topmost row as well. His glance moved a little left, and he spotted it. There was a large, arm like machine which was folded up and obviously offline. He pointed it out to the other two and assumed that was how they would get down. There were tracks all along the ceiling and going down the wall, indicating how this would work.

"Did CRS build all of this or has it been here?"

Neither of them answered as they didn't know and soon the sound of vehicles approaching outside could be heard. They looked outside and saw a large amount of vans approaching, with Zeira Corp logos on them. After they had pulled in, Matt Murch and Weaver got out of the lead vehicle and approached the Connors.

Weaver stood in front of the trio and glanced inside of the large building. "We've already purchased it."

John nodded and walked inside to check things out with her and the team that had come.

At a very nondescript house in a small suburban community, a young black man was busy trimming some hedges around his house. He walked back inside to get a bottle of water and walked upstairs to his bedroom. Upon the dresser across from the foot of his bed was a small black box, which he opened.

He took out a flask with the logo for the United States Marine Corps inscribed upon it and sighed. "I miss you guys..."

He started thinking of his son, who was very young and currently in military school, and sighed at the thought. He wouldn't be allowed home for a visit until this Summer. He opened the flask and smelled the Vodka within, taking a swig from it.

A knock on his door startled him, and he almost dropped the flask, spilling a large amount of its contents in the process of trying to save it. He capped the flask and placed it securely back in the box before heading downstairs to answer the door.

It was the UPS man, and he signed for the package, took it, and started to walk back upstairs. He was halfway through opening the package and going up the stairs as well before there was another knock on the door. He walked back over to it, sat the package down on a table beside the door, and opened it.

"Perry?" The woman was very pretty but at the same time mechanical. She was identical to the machine named Gina Hadley that Cameron had terminated months ago.

He nodded and she pulled a handgun out, firing a slug into his skull. When he was on the ground, she fired several more for good measure, concealed the handgun, and strode off back to her car.

After a few hours, the police had arrived and were very confused by the scene, considering Perry had kept to himself, mostly. None of the neighbors knew anything about him except that he always did the hedge trimming on a Tuesday for some reason.

There was very little to go on other than that the machine had left the shell casings there, and that the door wasn't forced open.

John Henry had caught word of the murder, as the LAPD was sharing with him any information regarding killings that were seemingly linked to their order in the phone book. He decided that this was possibly another machine and decided that calling John would be a good idea.

While examining a large collection of Skynet HK drones in warehouse 7, John picked up his phone and prepared to call John Henry when John Henry called him. "John Henry, I was about to call you."

"Oh? I have some interesting news."

"What is it?"

"A murder. In phone book order, possibly. A man named Daniel Perry. Do Derek or Cameron know him."

John looked over at them and they came closer to him, awaiting what he had to say. "John Henry's gotten word of another murder. Someone named Perry. Any of you know him?"

Derek gulped. "Yeah, he was my brother's commander. He was mine for a while before I transferred combat divisions. But he would only be a kid now."

John put the phone back up to his ear. "Was he a kid?"

"No, he was 34."

"He was 34."

"Then the kid's the real target." Derek had become worried, one of TechCom's greatest soldiers was now under threat from Skynet before he had even became a soldier. "Where is he?"

"John Henry, where is Perry?"

"Joshua Perry is currently enrolled at a military school which, incidentally, is being funded by CRS. It's the Kaplan Hill Academy."

"John. We have to get there. Make sure he's safe."

"Yeah."

The machine identical to Gina Hadley had been perusing documents for any possible reference of John Connor. She had heard information that indicated that he was in this time line, and discarded her mission to terminate Perry. Some unknown person had said the name to her and then asked if she wished to buy documents concerning him, all written by a now dead Private Investigator.

Their address was on the papers, so she broke into their house after wiring the alarm not to go off. No one was home, so she proceeded to look for their current identification documents. They would have a new name by now.

Opening their hallway closet, she found a box and pulled off the lid. Inside were folders, which she opened and found the information. They were using the alias of Weaver, and she assumed that the name might hold some importance, so she used their computer to look it up, finding information on Zeira Corp and some documents indicating that the Connors were using Zeira Corp. as a resource.

As pleased as a non-malfunctioning machine could be, she stepped out and rearmed the alarm for them and began to head downtown in order to find the head office of the company. The Connors were likely to be there now, gathering intelligence.

She had also found their DMV plate numbers after a thorough search, so that she could verify without even having to go inside.

"Derek. Who's going?" John had been thinking of the danger that the future leader was in, the same danger John was in his entire life.

"I'd planned on all of us."

John nodded and turned to look at John Henry. "Let us know. About anything."

John Henry gave his usual sly smile and waved goodbye as they all stepped out the door.

Cameron looked at John as he loaded some guns and moved to grab him. "John, we have to be careful."

"Cameron. Don't worry..."

"There's nothing I can do. I have to worry." He stroked her hair and looked over her head to see Derek smiling at them.

John didn't know that, deep inside, Derek was accepting this, he was okay with it. John and Cameron's relationship wasn't bothering him anymore. Although, any happiness would soon disappear as the car of the female machine pulled into the parking garage with them.

Cameron was the first to notice, and she quickly shoved John into the truck, screaming, "Stay down!"

Shots were fired, Cameron was hit multiple times. Derek had managed to take cover and was fine. The machine stepped out of the car and approached Cameron, who was ready to fight to save John. The enemy machine, knowing that there was someone in the truck, grabbed its bumper and gave a hard upward thrust with her arm, flipping the vehicle over.

Cameron was in shock, and she felt a slight twinge of anger, even. "You bitch."

Derek heard this and silently chuckled to himself.

Cameron grabbed her and threw her face into one of the pillars, causing a large crunching sound to fill the space they were in. When the machine turned around, almost the entire right side of her face was bare of skin and shining with the appearance of metal.

Cameron had braced herself for a possible counter attack and began calculating possible leverage points and the ways to damage her enemy the most, when at last John crawled out of the wreckage of the truck, coughing and groaning. This automatically diverted their enemy's attention, and she began to head toward John, poised for termination.

"Metal is also the source of conflict. Its value and rarity has caused Coltan to incite a war in the Congo. Metal will always cause the deepest depths of darkness to well up from inside the hearts of man. It's a material, something to build with, but it causes people to tear each other down. That is the true nature of Coltan, the blood metal. The material over which lives are lost."


	17. Episode 205 Composure

Episode 205 – Composure

*Okay, I think I'm just going to go ahead and call this machine Gina since she looks like her. It would make more sense than trying to come up with creative ways to spice up "that machine" over and over again. Also, there's a monologue in the middle this time, so be ready for it.*

"I've wondered so often what it was like for Derek, growing up in that world. Was there so much death that it would be possible to harden one's self against it? To completely lock down and maintain eternal vigilance even in the face of death seems like a near impossible task. I doubt that I could ever learn to live with constant losses of people I care about."

The battle was becoming tense, as metal clashed against metal in a never ending conflict of the two mechanical titans. Derek had managed to crawl into the remains of the truck and pull out the fifty caliber rifle. If he could just get one shot in and not hit Cameron, then this would be over. He had no idea that it would end badly.

Cameron had been knocked into one of the 120 second reboot cycles and the enemy caught sight of what Derek was attempting. She shoved her foot hard into the truck, knocking both it and the man back and pinning him against a support pillar. His struggles were fruitless as he tried to pull himself from the wreckage and the weapon had been thrown clear to land on top of some other vehicle.

John had begun the race to retrieve the gun as Gina jumped onto the truck and stared down at Derek. "You were going to kill me."

Derek grunted once more as he tried to pull himself out. "Yeah."

She jumped off of the truck and started pushing it, causing Derek to scream in pain. "Call to John."

"He won't come."

She pushed again and he screamed. "Call to him. This will end if you call to him."

He tried to spit at her, but the bloody glob only landed on the gas tank. "Bitch."

"I don't like that word." She once again jumped onto the truck and, determining Derek was useless, grabbed him by the back of the head and slammed his face into the metal frame of the now destroyed black 2010 Dodge Ram. For the second time, Derek had died because no one could help him. With a determined and purposeful look on her face, the machine jumped from the vehicle and proceeded to look through the area for John.

She stopped when she noticed that Cameron was just now beginning to get up, and knew that the fight was to continue. Cameron grabbed Gina and threw her into a pillar, which crumpled with the energetic impact of metal against concrete at forces the support was barely designed for. John had come around a corner at that very moment to lay eyes on the scene.

He saw Derek, and broke down, dropping the rifle and completely forgetting about the battle. "Not again! Derek!"

Cameron grabbed his arm and began pulling him toward the elevator. "John, I'm sorry. We have 120 seconds to go! I'm sorry!" Tears were streaming down her face, as well, when she slammed her fist into the elevator button and caused it to break.

They both held onto each other and tried not to look at his body which was in clear view from the elevator door. Before there was a ping followed by metal plates sliding into the wall, there was the sound of footsteps, which caused John and Cameron to panic.

She slammed her fist into the switch again, even though she knew it was broken, and caused the further collapse of the brushed steel plate into its wall cavity. She slammed into it once more, causing the plate to crumple into an unrecognizable shape and dangle by a few thin wires.

The footsteps were closer now, and the lift was still two floors above them. Cameron looked to her right and spotted an emergency stairwell, to which she led and forced it open. An alarm sounded, which they both ignored as they ran as fast as possible up the stairs. A door automatically slid open for them and they were in the familiar hallways which contained John Henry's lab, amongst other things. They came by John Henry's open door and John dashed in, frantic.

"John Henry, you saw all of that?"

"Yes. Please, remain calm."

"How can I?"

"Get upstairs. Cameron, come. John, get Miss Weaver, please." John nodded and ran toward the elevator which, by John Henry's order, had been opened before John was even there and ordered to lock after he had ascended.

Fortunately, John Henry had also had Weaver meet John in the lobby, and when she noticed he was on the verge of going insane, she grabbed his shoulders and held him completely still. "What's happened?"

"Derek's dead. This one, it's dangerous. Cameron hasn't stopped it. John Henry's with her, fighting it."

"John Henry?"

"Yeah."

She motioned for Ellison. "Take him to my office, you two stay there. Activate the Daemons."

He nodded and dragged John up to the CEO's office and slid open a panel below the Eel tank. There was a round black glass orb with a blue glowing light in the center which shot small beams into his eye when he placed it in front of the scanner. At that instant, Coltan plates slid over the doors and windows, securing the office, and all monitors in the place switched over to displays of the security cameras' live feeds.

John could see Cameron and Gina fighting, with John Henry's mechanical body lying there, offline apparently. John looked closely and saw a small black box type object on the floor beside of John Henry and correctly deduced that it was his wireless receiver. The machine must have ripped it out in order to eliminate him as a threat.

Soon, Weaver had exited from the elevator and taken over the fight after Cameron had been knocked out. John watched anxiously for the next 120 seconds until Cameron arose and helped Weaver in the fight. Together, they both knocked her offline, and when Weaver said something, a message popped up on the screen, saying, "Get out of the building. Run."

John looked over at Ellison and he nodded, then dashed over to the retinal scanner to raise the Coltan plates. When John was in the lobby, Cameron and Weaver were waiting for him. Cameron was keeping watch on the elevator and Weaver was opening a metal box that was hidden underneath a floor panel.

"What is that?" John was curious when he watched her pull out rectangular chrome rod of sorts, which was about five inches in length.

"The T-800s and 850s used these as a power source. They were highly unstable, so that when the 888 was developed, the power source was stabilized and shielded. I'm going to use it to destroy her. I need all of you to run. Go!"

John nodded but didn't move until she removed the top cap and began adjusting some of the parts under it. When Ellison, Cameron, and John were outside of the building and in the front parking lot, they watched as the Coltan plates slid down. For a while, there was silence and then banging on the plates, which stopped after a while.

Suddenly, there was a gigantic expulsion of energy as the plates warped and bent outwards, indicating that there was a nuclear explosion behind them. John, Cameron and Ellison were in horror, and they began scrambling to get the plates open, to find Weaver and see if she was okay.

Eventually, Cameron was able to find leverage and ripped one of the plates off, throwing it away and peering inside. She scanned the interior and saw only flames and ruin. When John and Ellison tried to rush in, she held them off. "Too hot. Let me."

John nodded and they both stepped back as she squeezed through the hole she'd made. Her targeting cursor moved around in an attempt to detect movement other than the dancing flames, but there was nothing there. She could make out the shapes of the parts of an endoskeleton, but nothing else that hinted that Gina or Weaver had survived.

For some reason, she completely failed to notice the entire complete upper half of their enemy's endoskeleton which had only been knocked into its 120 second reboot cycle, and was hidden under rubble right beside the hole Cameron had made.

Finally abandoning her search, Cameron stepped back outside and was virtually assaulted by John's wet fingers when he saw that her face was covered in soot. "Nothing."

John held her and began weeping. He and Weaver had shared more than what was outwardly visible. He respected the machine, it had helped him in the future and had been an ally all of these years. Ellison had his back turned to the opening and was staring at the buildings around them and the growing crowd of onlookers.

If he had been paying attention, it wouldn't have surprised him as much when he felt a hot metal hand close tightly around his ankle, snapping the bone and searing the flesh. He dropped to his knees and screamed in agony as he looked behind him and watched the upper half of a T-888 endoskeleton use his weight to pull itself closer and out of the flames.

Cameron let John go, motioning for him to run. He grabbed Ellison and just narrowly avoided a hard swing of the machine's arm as he helped Zeira Corp.'s chief of security get to safety. John and Ellison had joined the crowd of onlookers, and they all watched as the machine grabbed Cameron's ankle and pulled her to the ground.

It then proceeded to position itself on top of her and slam its hot fists into her face, causing burned marks in roughly the shape of its fists. Cameron closed her hands around the machine's wrists, ignoring the burning sensation, and threw it over 100 feet away, where it crashed into a car, breaking the windows and denting the body.

She quickly made her way to its position and continually pummeled it everywhere that she could possibly reach. At every hit, its HUD would glitch out and lag, with the words "WARNING – ENDOSKELETAL FRAME BEARING LOADS BEYOND MAXIMUM LIMIT. BREAKDOWN IMMINENT."

And that information was accurate, as parts soon began flying off constantly with Cameron's every hit. Pretty soon, the HUD indicated that it had lost all motor control and that its mission was failed. Cameron grabbed it by its neck, squeezed hard enough to cause the parts to collapse on themselves, and threw the machine hard into the pavement, causing the chest area to basically completely fall apart.

"Sometimes, it can be hard to maintain one's composure. For a machine developing emotions, it's even more difficult, as this is something that has never been encountered before. Cameron wanted revenge, for the first time in her existence, she felt she had to terminate this machine for causing us to lose both a friend and valuable resource. Not just destroy it, but to destroy it violently and with rage. Composure was lost, emotions took control."

John couldn't handle the job of getting their stuff from the wreckage of the truck, so he waited in Ellison's car as Cameron did it. He'd forgotten that it was nearly as hard for her, as well. She stared at the spot where Derek's body had been, though a team had taken it to be cremated.

A tear ran down her cheek as she saw the spot where the truck had folded around his body. They had been in questioning for hours with the police, who were now overwhelmed by the evidence presented to them. The body of the destroyed machine, an X-Ray which Cameron had actually allowed, on which no bones and only the shape of the metal frame was shown.

There were no charges against them, as they had been running for their lives and it was impossible to charge them with doing what was necessary to defend themselves. They were told, though, that if it were a human that was after them, they would treat this far differently. The detectives were told all about Judgment Day and were instructed that, if they wanted to help win the war, they would ignore the chain of evidence and burn the remainders of the endo, which they heeded.

When Cameron and John arrived home, they weren't surprised to see that the house had been broken into and that their documents had been scattered all around. After all, the Gina copy needed some way of finding them. This way made sense.

Neither of them wanted to enter Derek's room, so they continually avoided it, afraid of the flood of feelings that it would bring. Cameron, more so than John, was afraid of what she might do if this flood hit her. She couldn't bear to think that she might hurt herself or John, so she avoided the room more than he did.

After a few long hours of silence, during which John mostly just stood at the back door and stared outside, his phone rang. He looked down to see the number, which was John Henry's extension from Zeira Corp., and answered it. "Hello?"

"John?"

"Yeah. You're fixed. Did she just disconnect the router?"

"No, I'm not in my body."

"What?"

"I'm synthesizing my voice through the phone signals. I need help."

"With what?"

"I don't have a body, so I need someone to plug me back up."

"I've never seen your type of router before, so I wouldn't know ho--"

"No. Not that way. It's a surprise. Come see?"

"Yeah, alright." John hung up and turned to Cameron. "Let's go."

He walked out to the Jeep and sat down in the driver's seat. Cameron slid in beside him and he started the vehicle up, driving it downtown. It was nearly nightfall when they pulled into the parking garage, where a large amount of repairs had taken place since the fight.

Still, the signs were visible.

John slid the Jeep into a parking space, hopped out, and led Cameron over to the elevator, where he pressed the newly installed button. There was a beep and the doors slid out of the way to grant them entrance to the lift cart, which carried them to John Henry's floor.

Evidently, none of the repair or cleaning teams had reached this area yet, as John Henry's body was still in the same position as before, and there was no less damage. John motioned to the body, which prompted Cameron to pick it up and carry it back into the lab. She carefully placed it into the seat and looked at the screens, which were displaying standard operational data.

John's phone rang and he answered it, with John Henry's words appearing on all of the screens at the same time he said them through the phone. "Look on the wall, where a panel is opening."

John looked over and saw a silver panel on the left-hand wall fall down to rest at a 45 degree angle. He looked inside and saw a black tube carefully positioned within the metal rack. "What is it?"

"You'll see. I'm unlocking the clamps." Some parts of the metal rack moved and now the black tube was able to be freely removed. He took it and held it in his hand, feeling the light weight. "Open it, please."

He unscrewed the top cap and slid out a collection of white cotton, which he pushed aside to see an anti-static plastic bag and, inside, a T-888 CPU. "John Henry, what is this?"

"A CPU. Do you have a knife?"

Cameron pulled one from her jacket, catching on, and began to make the incision on John Henry's skull.

"Cameron's doing her part. John, I need you to get the cable inside of that same panel." John looked in it and saw, also in the metal rack, a length of cable with an odd connector at one end and a USB connector at the other. John looked at Cameron and saw that she had already opened John Henry's CPU port.

"Is this chip completely wiped?"

"It never had any programming to begin with. It was taken from one of those machines in the warehouse, and apparently Skynet was supposed to have programmed them when they were found." John nodded and found a USB port. "Yes, there is good."

He plugged it in and then connected the chip to the other end. On all screens, there was now a progress bar that was filling quite rapidly. "How long?"

"Two, or three minutes, at the most. This cable is designed to handle high data loads. But I have to go now, I'm transferring my communication protocols next." John nodded, pressed the end call button, and stuffed the phone into his back pocket. After a few minutes, the transfer bar was replaced by a "TRANSFER COMPLETED" message.

Nervously, John unplugged the CPU, walked over to John Henry's body, inserted the CPU into the port, and waited. After 15 seconds, his body moved and he looked around the room. "Hold still, let me put the cap back on."

"Amazing. Being directly connected to the body is far superior to being connected by wire or router." He stood up and walked over to another panel on the wall, pressing a button below it to open it. There was only a touch-pad with numbers, and he quickly entered a code. "This will allow me to stay connected to the internet and the building via satellite and other systems."

"What's Zeira Corp. going to do with Weaver gone?"

"Weaver appointed me the new CEO, which technically couldn't take effect until I was able to pass for human, such as now." John looked up and down at the body in front of him, and thought he passed for human more than anything else Skynet has ever made, other than Cameron.

"You didn't call her 'Miss Weaver', John Henry."

"Didn't I? Strange. I guess I've changed the rules, again."

"What's that mean?"

John Henry began to walk out the door, opening the elevator before he had even reached it. John and Cameron followed. "I have to start work."

"John Henry, what does that mean? You've changed the rules."

John Henry looked at Cameron and knew she understood. This caused her to throw her arms around John and hold him gently. "Don't worry about it. Please, John."

"No." He tried to push her off, but forgot about her strength. "I want to know what it means." Yet, her oddly mechanical softness got to him and he actually did forget about it as he held her, too.

They reached the elevator's destination and stepped out to see the ruined lobby, now taped off at some points and almost clean. "I need help."

"With what, now?"

"The Perfect Metal project, it's in danger." John was tense, surprised that he had forgotten about that.

"What can we do?" John Henry smiled his usual smile and led them up to the CEO's office.

"Composure, holding oneself together, keeping calm in the most hair-raising of situations. It's something a soldier needs to learn. Something I'm trying to learn, something that can help me fight against machines that are nearly always completely composed, even as they sink lead slugs into peoples' skulls. But if we're too composed in the face of death, do we cease to become human and thus become them?"

**So, here it is, somewhat shorter than the last episode. I know it may be sort of controversial to kill off Derek again and Weaver in the same episode, but I've felt that it's something that needs to happen to progress the series. Anyway, the main idea of this season, in my head, was to have their world slowly start unraveling until J-Day, to have everything they and I've built up be torn down only to have the whole world engulfed in flames at the end. It does sound bleak, but the other half of the story is building up man's ability to fight the machines after Judgment Day, hence Project Metal, destroying Skynet resources, etc...


	18. Episode 206 Something In The Night

Episode 206 – Something in the Night

"I've been told all my life to be eternally vigilant. To always keep my guard up, to not let my securities fall so that I can one day lead mankind against them. The enemy. But I'm not like them. When night falls, I can no longer continue my vigilant watch. When night falls, I must sleep. Men must sleep."

Cameron was at the computer in the kitchen, watching a video with the headphones on. She decided that it wasn't important so she continued scanning the various news sources looking for anything that was. Eventually, she crossed an article about several extremely violent warehouse break-ins during which the security guards were killed.

The details of the contents and locations of the warehouses weren't mentioned, but Cameron decided that Project Metal was at risk. John Henry had given her the locations of each one of the warehouses at which the suits were stored, and she decided to check them all out.

According to her internal chronometer, it was 4:04am and if nothing happened, she calculated that she should be back at 6:23am. After a brief check of the guns she was to bring, she filed out the door and was on her way in the Zeira Corp. company car that they were borrowing temporarily.

Though the Jeep was still functional, this vehicle had not been spotted before and was therefore more secure. She drove deep into the desert, to the same array of warehouses that they had taken from the machine before Derek died. She took out a key from her pocket and opened warehouse number 1, which had originally contained Coltan.

It was now filled with rows and rows of suits, which Cameron walked down, scanning for any presence. She'd determined that the suits were safe and left, detecting no presence. As was common since her malfunction years ago, a reminder of her mission appeared, which was a picture of John Connor and the directive to terminate him.

She ignored it, as usual, and continued to make her way to another array of warehouses, as Weaver had made sure that the suits were stored far away from each other and their purchases routed through in such a way to make them difficult to trace.

This was only one warehouse, and it was small in comparison to the others. Cameron once again used her key to enter it and search for any presence. Her chronometer indicated that it was 5:40am. She was making good time, and she smirked as she scanned the area in infrared.

Her HUD indicated that it was clear and she began to leave. Suddenly, one of the suits jumped down from its rack and grabbed Cameron, throwing her into the wall. She got up from the floor and watched its movements, determining that it had an operator.

She knew that it was bad to harm the suit, but she had to in order to contain the threat. It was upon her again and it again threw her into the wall.

Her analysis indicated that, due to the amount of force applied, it was a human in the suit. She approached it, grabbed its arms, and bent them in such a way that a loud crack resounded, followed by the operator's screaming.

She removed the helmet and looked upon the man's face, confused. "Who are you?"

He laughed and said no more before passing out. She took off the suit, picked him up and placed him in the back of the car.

It was 09:32 when John finally awoke, and he was in shock to see an unconscious man laying on their couch and Cameron nonchalantly staring out the window. "Who the hell is this?"

She didn't turn around. "I found him, at the warehouse last night. He was wearing a suit and he hurt me."

"Wake him. Without hurting him?"

Cameron smiled and picked up a clear spray bottle with water in it. She bent down over the man and squirted the liquid in his face several times before he woke up, groaning in agony. "Bitch!"

"Who are you?" She turned to John. "Who is he?"

"You don't recognize him?"

"No."

"Me either." John leaned down over the man and looked into his eyes. "Tell us what you were doing, who you are, and we'll get you pain killers."

"J-John C-c-c-Connor?" John nodded. "I was sent back to protect the suits. Skynet's sent..." He groaned.

"Machines to destroy them?" He nodded. "Alright, okay... Cameron, find something. Anything."

She cocked her gun and headed toward the door. "I'll be back."

"Don't hurt anyone!" And she was gone. John didn't talk to the man until he leaned down to look at his arms. "You need a doctor. Got a name?"

"Geller, sir."

The name flooded back to him from the deep recesses of his memory as if it were yesterday, and he realized that he did recognize the man. In the alternate future where no one knew him, Geller was a chip tech that was responsible for reprogramming a Skynet unit that helped him on his raid of Serrano Point.

"Of the 132nd?"

"No. 112th." John was surprised.

"Lieutenant? Chip scrubber?"

"Lieutenant, Infantry. You act like you know me."

"Well..." Suddenly, the door opened and an EMT walked in, holding his hands up. Cameron came in behind him, carrying his duffel bag and aiming her handgun at his head. "CAMERON!"

"I haven't hurt anybody. Yet." She poked the gun into his back and he stumbled forward. "Help him."

John looked at the man's name tag and saw that it read Lloyd Friedman. "Lloyd?"

He glanced at John. "Two dislocated shoulders. How did this happen?"

"Her."

Lloyd looked at Cameron and then back at his patienr. He prepared a needle and tried to find a vein. "Allergic to Morphine?"

Geller shook his head. "No."

"Alright. When this kicks in, I'm going to try to relocate your shoulders." Geller received the injection and stopped shuddering as much as he had been after a few minutes. Lloyd was able to relocate his shoulders and stood up to leave.

John stopped him in front of the door. "If you tell anyone, ANYONE, she'll kill you. I can't stop her."

Lloyd Friedman nodded and left, leaving the three alone.

John was sitting in a chair, staring at the man he knew as Danny Geller, who turned to look at John after a few minutes. "I'm sorry. I didn't know she was your..."

"Forget it. I'm the one who should say sorry. We all know she won't."

She heard this and turned to look at Geller after she'd made sure Lloyd was gone. "I'm sorry."

This shocked Geller more than it did John, but he got over it after a few seconds.

"The future's better. With these suits, I mean."

"Better? How do you know what it would be like without them?"

"I don't know, but it's better. We're winning. And fast. You're doing great."

"Good to know. Do people hate... Us?"

"Her and you? No. And I didn't know it was _her_ when I started that fight in the warehouse. I thought it was a copy."

"Yeah..."

"We need the suits. They're our ace in the hole." John stood up and approached Cameron.

"He's dangerous." She was still very blunt with her thoughts, even with emotions occasionally hindering her expression of them.

"No, I know him. He's helping us."

"You don't know this one. You don't know."

"Cameron, relax, it's all--" He was cut off when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was John Henry, so he answered it. "Yeah?"

"The suits?"

"Safe."

"I believe I've found something interesting."

"What's that?"

"Your mother was investigating the Kaliba Group, correct?" John was visibly shocked by the mention of a name he hadn't heard in a long time.

"Yeah. It's how we found out about Kaplan Hill. Contract lists."

"Yes, Daniel Dyson was an employee at Kaliba. He was working on their build of Skynet there. However, it turns out that there was a merger between Kaliba and CRS, and they created two subsidiaries of which we already know. Iron Valley Mechanics and Rocky Ridge Mechanics, among others."

"But Dyson was working at Kaplan Hill, under CRS?"

"Yes, he requested a transfer because CRS owned all of the rights to his father's work at Cyberdyne. Kaliba had acquired an old build of Skynet through Black Market contacts."

"These other subsidiaries, should we take them out?"

"It would be wise, although the joint company not only has guns for hire, they have the military backing them, as well. You'll want lists, I assume?"

"Yeah. We'll be there soon."

"Then, goodbye."

"Yeah." He turned to see Cameron staring at him. "You heard all of that?"

She nodded and looked at Geller. "Him?"

"I don't know. Can he come with us?"

"It wouldn't be wise to move him." John took this into account and found a shotgun, which he handed to Geller.

"Can you shoot?"

"I've shot with a broken arm before. I'll be fine. So, you got a lead?" John nodded. "Be careful, alright? You're John Connor. You die, they win."

"I know. I've heard that my entire life." He was thinking of Sarah, his mother, constantly warning him to stay out of the way in battles because he was too important. He wanted her to understand that he needed to learn how to fight these battles himself if he were going to lead mankind in a war.

Cameron came up beside him and took his hand. "We have to go, John."

"Yeah." He stared at Geller for a minute and took Derek's cell phone from his pocket, which was still intact, and handed it to him. "My number's on there. If anything happens-anything-call me."

Geller nodded and John left with Cameron, this time letting her drive. His mind was too occupied to focus on the road. He was pondering the fact that finally they had something to go on, finally they had a weapon with which to fight.

It was different, seeing John Henry not in his basement room with computer equipment, but standing in the high office and staring out the window onto the streets of Los Angeles. He didn't turn around when John and Cameron came in, as he was still connected to the systems in the building and he knew that they were coming.

"John Henry?"

"John Connor."

"What... What's going on? The lists?"

"On my desk."

John glanced at them but then focused his attention back on John Henry. "Are you okay?"

"Nothing but. Just wondering, thinking."

"About what?"

"If the world is really going to end so soon."

"We can stop it."

"No, we can't. There is a such thing as fate. I know."

"How?"

"Remember years ago, when I went into the future with Cameron's chip?"

"Not something I'll ever forget."

"No, I suppose not. When I went into the future, in her chip, in this body, I was in the exact same future that you arrived in. You were destined to have gone into the future after me, that's why when I arrived, it was the same future. The same one where no one knew you and the same one you went to, after me."

"And?"

"And normally, according to the multiple worlds interpretation of time travel theory, I should have arrived in a future where you were still the hero, the leader of the Resistance, because you had not yet chased after me. But you were destined to go after me, which is why I arrived in the same future you were destined to have gone into."

"What does this have to do with Kaliba, with Skynet?"

"It has everything to do with Skynet, because Skynet is just as destined to happen as you were destined to have gone after me. After her." He had turned around and looked at Cameron, lacking his grin and maintaining a flat expression.

"Then maybe we can't stop it. We can still fight it, here and now."

"That is what we should try to do." He looked at the lists on the table and then turned his gaze back to John. "Find them. Blow them up, do whatever it is you do, John Connor. Together, we'll bring Skynet down before 2020."

John took the lists and flipped through them. "Rocky Ridge is a good place to start. We're going to Colorado."

"Wait." Cameron held his arm and looked shocked. "We've forgotten something."

"What?"

"Williams. What happened to him?"

"I don't know, he was fighting the T-980 before I blew Skynet Central. That's the last I saw of him."

John Henry had scanned the internet briefly and walked up to John. "Kaliba-CRS hired a crew to do the cleanup there. It's possible they found any remains of his endoskeleton that were left and harvested them."

"We need to find it and burn it." John had sat down and begun to think. "How can we track it down?"

"When Kaliba-CRS or any of its subsidiaries released information to a public domain, they classify specific areas of data such as their cleanup logs. But, the private files are a different story."

"Great, where do they keep all of that?"

"Electronically. I can hack their firewalls easily. But my current connection is slow." He turned around to have his back facing John and pulled around some hairs on the back of his head, revealing the USB port that had once been used to connect him into his hardware. "I'll connect this way once again and it should only take a few minutes to get the data."

John nodded and motioned for Cameron to follow him down to the basement with John Henry. When they were down there, he helped John Henry get plugged in and started the systems as instructed. "Now what?"

"We wait."

Cameron brought him over to the threshold of the door and stared at him. "This is dangerous. Something like a triple 8 endoskeleton will be guarded closely."

"I knew the risks when I took this job."

"Job?"

"It was a joke."

"Right." She chuckled and turned to look at the screens that were displaying what John Henry was accessing.

John Henry stopped, pulled the cord out, and walked over to John. "Kaliba-CRS sent their cleanup division to the remains of their mountain office after a mysterious explosion, the one you setup and triggered, destroyed the entire base and caused the mountain to collapse."

"The endo?"

"After sifting through tons of rock and metal, they were able to find the distinct remains of an endoskeleton, unlike any they had ever seen before. Only 35 percent of the machine suffered enough crushing damage to render it impossible to reverse engineer. The other 65 percent of the systems were studied and they are planning on applying what they've learned to future drone constructions. I do find it strange, though..."

"What?"

"When Skynet hacked me all those years ago, it was able to retrieve the data on my endoskeletal design. Does it not have that data on file?"

"Yeah, I don't know. But where is it?"

"They've already studied it, John. There's nothing we can do."

"Except go to Colorado."

"It would be wise."

"Cameron, road trip. We're bringing Geller. Thanks for the help, John Henry." John tucked the folder of files under his arm and headed toward the elevator, which, due to John Henry, had already arrived. He held it open for Cameron, who lagged behind for some reason.

"John. I believe in you." He smiled and she threw her arms around him as the doors closed and the elevator ascended.

"Geller, road trip." John handed the man an empty duffel bag so that he could pack anything he needed. "Guns and C4 are a priority."

"Yeah. Always are." He stuffed some clothes into the bag, followed by gun magazines and detonators. "Where we headed, anyway?"

"Colorado."

"Colorado?"

"Yeah, you didn't hear me? Sorry. Look, there's this group, Kaliba-CRS, they're responsible for Skynet. They're building things for Skynet, using small technology firms as subsidiaries. It's complicated business stuff that I don't even understand. Anyway, they got a place in Aspen, called Rocky Ridge Mechanics. They build endos and HK Aerials there."

"Great."

"Worst part is that I sent a machine from the future to set up things for the suits. I blew Skynet Central and the endo got trashed in the explosion. They found it and they're using it to get a jump on their designs."

"I thought you were careful with that stuff." He and John were busy shoving as much as they could into the duffel bags while they were talking.

"Yeah, me too." John picked up the old shotgun he and his mom had had since Uncle Bob helped them fight the T-1000. It was the one with the wooden pump grip and the folded up stock on which they kept a reload of shells. He had cleaned it so many times and become so used to it that he packed it simply out of affinity and familiarity.

It was almost like having Sarah back in some ways.

Cameron had been driving for hours and they were close to Aspen now, the air was growing colder as they got closer to the mountains and snow. John turned to Geller, who was in the back seat, with a question. "When is it for you?"

"What?"

"J-Day."

"Oh. May 10th, this year."

"We're closing in on it, then."

"I don't know. You've done a lot of things to push it forward. Maybe."

"Yeah, maybe."

They had pulled into a hotel and rented a room. It was past midnight, and they were barely awake as they stumbled into bed, falling asleep with their clothes on.

Cameron smiled as she covered both of them up, turned off the lights, and began patrolling the perimeter, making sure they both were safe.

Especially John.

"But some must watch while some must sleep. I remember my mom telling me this once, while I watched the men we were training with in the jungle patrol the perimeter, just as Cameron does. I asked her why, and she said to keep us safe, she said because some must watch while some must sleep. All men need sleep, even those men were struggling without it. Machines never sleep, machines can always watch, even as we sleep. They can be our guardians, they can protect us from that frightful something in the night. Especially if they learn to love you, like her. Cameron, who watches over me while I sleep. My guardian."


	19. Episode 207 Silver and Exact

Episode 207 – Silver and Exact

"I was young when mom told me about J-Day. I remember the nightmares. And I always asked me why I had to be so young when she told me. I remember the dreams of a metal monster chasing me, wanting nothing more than my death. I remember the chrome. I remember the perfect aim, the deadly determination. I hated them, I was terrified of them. I couldn't understand why they wanted to hurt a kid. How they could want to hurt a kid."

John was sitting on the bed of the hotel room, reading some journals his mother left him while Cameron showered. He felt a strange feeling, as if this had happened before, but remembered that it actually had, in a different hotel room, in a more simplistic time.

But things weren't simplistic at all, they were complicated.

Things would get far more complicated as Cameron strolled into the room, soaking wet and covered only by a towel.

"Cameron, why are we here?"

"What?"

"Why are we here, and why is Geller out there, doing our work for us?"

She walked over to him and held his shoulders. Leaning closely, she kissed him, but he tried to push her away. "You want to."

"I know."

"I can."

"I know."

"Have you ever?"

"With Riley." She looked almost sad but continued to kiss him. He stopped resisting, so she paused to take of the towel, but continued after she had thrown it onto the floor.

"What do you mean, it's not in the records?" Geller was in the City Hall Records Office, trying to figure out where exactly Rocky Ridge Mechanics was supposed to be.

"I'm sorry, sir. The place you're looking for may be out of city limits."

"Well, then, what about county records, something like that?"

"We're not authorized to distribute county business records if the business is not within the limits of the city from which the information will potentially be distributed."

"I've never heard of that law. Ever."

"Well, it's true. And this business is not within the limits of any city."

"So, you know where it is?"

The man just stared at Danny Geller and then scratched his beard. He was young, and looked like a college student you might see running the campus bookstore. "Not here."

"Where?"

"Drive me outside city limits. That way, I can tell you where it is."

"This is stupid." He looked around and saw that this place wasn't monitored by any security cameras or anything. He reached in his coat and pulled out his heat, aiming it at the clerk, who instantly threw his hands up. "You'll tell me now. Here."

"Okay, man, can you cool it with the piece?"

"Where? Now!"

"In the mountains. To the east. You'll find a path. I don't know how they make deliveries because that's the only way up there."

"They don't make deliveries. Not yet." He looked down the hallway to the right when he heard a door open. "Are you going to say anything about this? Because if you are, you die."

"No, man. I'm cool. I swear."

"Yeah, I swear, too." He kept his weapon pointed at the clerk as he ran down the hall but concealed it before he was outside.

John was sitting at the small table in the hotel kitchen, wearing nothing but jeans and clearly in deep thought. He was thinking about what had just happened over the last hour, what he and Cameron had just done.

The door opened and Geller walked in to see Cameron laying under the covers on the bed. "John?"

"Kitchen."

He walked in there and found John stirring a spoon around in a bowl of cereal. "What's going on? Why's she in the bed?"

"I don't know." He turned around to look at Geller with an inquisitive look on his face. "Is she?"

"Yeah. I know where it is."

"Oh... Good."

"What's wrong? John?"

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong. Everything's peachy-keen."

Geller was confused and walked back into the bedroom/living room to see Cameron dressing, only just now getting to her bra. "Oh, God. You didn't?"

"Didn't what?"

"Never mind. Hurry up with that. We gotta go. Soon."

"Did you find it?" She was now putting her jeans on.

"Yeah. I thought you'd know that's why I'm rushing us."

"Oh. Right."

John had just walked in from the kitchen, fully dressed and popping a magazine into his handgun. "Where is it?"

"Mountains, to the east of town."

"Should have known, you know? It would be safe there."

"Yeah." Cameron was now fully dressed and inserting a magazine into an M16.

"Ready." She smiled and carried the M16 and a shotgun to the door. "John, help?"

He nodded and opened the door for her, closing it after she and Geller had gone through.

The hill was steep and the car had to be pushed hard in order to make it up to the top, where there was only a flat outcropping and a small shack on top of it. John got out of the car, rubbing his arms vigorously in the cold mountain air. "It's gotta be inside."

Geller and Cameron followed him over to the shack, guns at the ready. John pulled out his and kicked open the door, aiming his weapon inside but finding no threats. It was a small room, apparently smaller on the inside than the out, and there was a small door at the other end.

"What is it?"

Cameron's advanced sensors were tracking everything that was happening behind the doors and walls, and she was able to answer John's inquiry. "It's an elevator. Possible a cargo lift."

"That door's small. This building's flimsy. Is this really the right place? There's nothing here."

Geller shook his head and pressed the button to call the lift. "This building's not meant to stand. Everything's in the mountain."

"Why's everything in a mountain?"

They had taken the elevator down and when the doors opened, they were astonished by the site of a large, opened space filled with fifteen of the carriers John had seen back in California, the carriers that could carry over a hundred endoskeletons each.

"Where's the security?"

"John, hold on." Cameron stopped him from moving forward when she saw a tank HK facing toward them. When she walked closer, it fired a large caliber slug into her chest, which knocked her back. "There."

"Right. What do we do?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"No."

"Well, we gotta blow this place. Now."

"I know."

"Yeah, well, let's get something figured out."

Geller stepped forward but wasn't met with a bullet. He looked and was slightly behind where Cameron was. "Line's here, maybe. For what that's worth."

"Cameron, take it out."

"John, hold on." She pointed at the bullet hole in her chest and John could see the metal was actually dented.

"Well, isn't that the slug?"

"I don't know."

"Right. It could be you. How fast can you move?"

"I can't dodge bullets."

"I know, but how fast can this thing track?"

She nodded and began running as fast as she could, in a zigzag pattern, and wasn't hit by the machine's hail of bullets. She was upon it, shoving her fist into its chest and ripping out its power cell. "No redundancies. We're safe."

"No one's ever safe." Geller and John said this line at the exact same time as they walked toward where Cameron stood.

They began pulling out C4 and detonators, preparing them for the job they would soon have to do. For good measure, John and Geller stuck five or six blocks on the carriers while Cameron found the main support structures and placed C4 on them. They were hoping to obliterate the machines with both explosive and crushing damage.

Cameron walked over to John and looked around at the work that they'd done. "Let's go."

John shook his head. "No, something's wrong. It's gone too well. It never goes this well."

"John, sometimes, good things happen."

He thought back to several hours ago and smiled. "Yeah, I guess sometimes, they do."

They were finally on their way to the hotel when they detonated the explosives. Because of their position inside of the mountain, the detonation went by unnoticed, and they were safe when they arrived at the hotel.

Geller sat down and powered on the TV, automatically turning to a news channel. John and Cameron were in the kitchen when they were called. "Hey, come look."

They rushed into the room and sat down on the bed on either side of Geller, paying attention to what the news anchor was saying. "And I'm getting an update on our breaking news story, here. Yes, it seems that people are still reporting that they are apparently incapable of accessing the internet. We're having the same problem at the station here, and none of our IT technicians can figure it out. Meanwhile, we can only assume that many businesses may be going under because of this new problem..."

"Skynet?"

Cameron nodded. "John, this is how it starts."

"Yeah. I know."

Geller stood up and looked out the window when he heard the dog bark that always barks when Cameron goes outside. "Metal!"

"Does it know which one we are?"

"I don't know. Is it after us?"

John looked at Cameron, worried, and she held him. "John, we'll be okay. We always are."

"Yeah. Guns. Now."

"Yeah." Luckily, their weapons were still loaded so they were well prepared. A few minutes later, they heard gunshots and people screaming. Some residents had their own guns and were foolishly trying to combat the machine on their own, only to be killed in its rampage.

Cameron positioned herself in front of the door, holding a semi-auto shotgun and the M16. There were footsteps outside the door, which was busted open to permit the machine's entry into their hotel room. Cameron unleashed all of the ammo into the machine's body, threw the weapons down, grabbed it, and threw it over the balcony, causing it to land on and crush someone's car.

She climbed onto the balcony and allowed herself to fall from it, landing on the pavement in a crouched position which allowed to be more ready when she was grabbed by the machine and slammed into the same car it had fallen on.

She shoved her fist into its face, which caused the sound of crushing metal to resound and deformed the machine's previously handsome features. It let go of Cameron and stepped back, taken by surprise as she flipped the deformed car over on top of it. She slammed her fists into the hunk of metal and forced both it and the machine underneath into the pavement until the car was sent flying into the air by the machine's forceful push.

Only its arms were free, but the rest of it was partially embedded in the pavement, although Cameron grabbed him and threw him over halfway across the hotel parking lot, ripping up large amounts of pavement as she did so.

It was barely able to stand up when she picked it up and threw it once again across the parking lot, causing it to land near to where it had been before. She stomped repeatedly on its face as it laid on the ground, ripping the flesh and further deforming the skull. She then leaned down on her knee, grabbed its hair, pulled its head forward, and slammed it back into the Asphalt.

She repeated this and eventually the machine's skull was so deformed that the cap for the chip simply fell off on its own, so she took out a pair of needle-nose pliers from her jacket and pulled the chip out, which she simply crushed in her fist.

She threw the pieces away, leaned back over the machine, and continually punched it until John ran up to her and stopped her. "Cameron. Cameron, what are you doing?"

He gasped when she looked at him, because her face was red and tears were streaming down her cheeks. "They won't leave us alone. I just want to be with you, John."

She fell into his chest, and he stroked her hair as her tears soaked his shirt. "I know. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

He said nothing and continued to hold her until she was normal again.

Hours had passed and the three of them were on the run with the machine's remnants stashed in their trunks. Once they were back in California, they knew they would be safe.

The machine was burned and they were back in their own living room, with Geller and Cameron watching the news story about the internet and John reviewing the files.

"Okay, okay, there's one in Oregon. Look, here, Portland..."

Cameron looked at him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "No. John, there's no time, now."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I mean it's happening now. Skynet's online. Now."

"Yeah, it's been on for years."

"I know. But now it's ready."

"I don't care, look, we need to do as much as we can!" He was now pacing the floor, not taking his eyes off of the paper.

She stopped him and he just stared at her in his cold manner. "John, I'm sorry."

"But I'm not ready."

"No. You never are."

"What?"

"You can't be ready. Not for something like this."

"Yeah, okay..."

She smiled and folded her arms around him. "We'll win."

"I hope."

"We will." Geller hadn't taken his eyes off of the TV, so John and Cameron walked back into the hallway. They stopped at Derek's door.

John sighed. "Let's get it ready for him."

"But now I realize that I truly did understand. I also realize that they're not as terrifying as I'd once thought. They're more than just metal monsters, silver and exact, they hurt. Some do. One does. They love. One does. They're afraid. They're afraid of me. They're not monsters, they're cornered animals, showing their teeth in what seems like a threatening display but what is really an expression of fear."


	20. Episode 208 The Reflective Property

Episode 208 – The Reflective Property

"What the hell?" Cameron and John were both shocked, looking upon a collection of parts scattered all over Derek's bed. Cameron's HUD was targeting each part, comparing it to her database and she was able to correctly identify all of them.

"They're T-888 parts."

"Yeah, but why are they here?"

"Derek was probably taking them apart in order to figure out how best to use them in his suit designs."

"Yeah. Okay." John picked up a part of a darker color, like a cube but with a single red glass orb on it, that looked to be a light and several wire connections along one face. Cameron's scan identified it as a 'TB-106 POWER OUTPUT CELL, NUCLEAR – FUSION'.

"That's a power cell. Every second you hold it, you're receiving approximately 25 parts per million of radiation. Put it down."

John nodded and threw it on the bed. As Cameron reached her hand toward it, a scale on her HUD, labeled 'GEIGER' on the left hand side, increased by nearly a quarter of the way to the top, with text displaying 'RADIATION LEVELS DANGEROUSLY HIGH'.

"What about you? I mean, does that thing affect you in any way?"

"Machines don't get cancer."

"Yeah, I know, but I meant-"

"I know. No, I'll be fine. Look for a box, one with Lead. Derek should have prepared for this and hidden one here somewhere."

"How do I know what a box with Lead looks like?"

"Radiation warning label."

"Oh." John began rummaging through a pile of boxes and clothes in one corner of the room until he found it, a green box with the precise label Cameron had specified. He opened it and allowed her to dump the power cell into it, making the room safe again.

Cameron walked up to John and rubbed her fingers across his neck, with the Geiger counter registering every bit of radiation her fingertips contacted. It didn't spike. "You're okay."

"Yeah." He picked up one of the servomechanisms and rolled it around in his hands. Again, Cameron's HUD took note of the part, with it indicating that it was a 'A07-6B SERVOMECHANISM, THIGH PLACEMENT CODE 0076'.

"John. What are we going to do with all of this?"

"Keep it. Fix yourself with it."

In the living room, Geller was cleaning guns when his cell phone rang. He answered it and listened to the voice on the other end. "Hello. Is John there? Tell him it's John Henry."

Geller nodded and shouted, "John, phone!"

Several seconds later, John was there and had the phone by his ear. "Yeah?"

"John. It's John Henry."

"Hey, what's up?"

"An interesting expression... The ceiling, of course."

"No, I mean, what do you want."

"Oh. There appears to be an unknown team of men moving in on the Zeira Corp. building."

"What?"

"Yes, I'd assume that they're agents of Kaliba-CRS. They have weapons."

"Stay secure, then. We're on out way." He pressed the end call button and ran into the room where Cameron was. "Cameron--"

"I heard. Possibly Kaliba-CRS."

"Yeah, we've got to move."

"Coming." She reached under Derek's bed and pulled out an M16 before popping a magazine in and pulling the slide. She smiled at John, "Ready."

Despite John Henry's worries, the exterior of the Zeira Corp. building was relatively quiet. No one was there, so John thought that they were already inside.

Cameron threw out her arm to stop John from walking inside. "Let me."

"Cameron?"

"I'll let you know if it's safe." John nodded and watched her stride off into the mysteriously quiet building. Even as she swung the door open, it was difficult to see anything around her, and when it had closed, their vision was blocked by the plywood boards that were temporarily replacing the glass.

Not even a minute after she had gone in, what appeared to be a man had flown through the door. John took a sidearm and checked him for a pulse. Nothing. He noticed the bullet holes and the large amount of blood flowing from them.

No machine had that much blood. This man was human.

Now that the door had been ripped off of its hinges, John and Geller could freely see the battle taking place inside. Now it was only Cameron and some... Woman.

John had seen her before.

It was the machine at Skynet Central... And his fears were confirmed as she cloaked herself. But couldn't Cameron see in other spectrums?

This was confirmed when Cameron reached her arms out into what was seemingly nowhere and threw what was seemingly nothing against a wall, which caused the drywall to crack and dent.

Geller looked at John. "What are we going to do?"

"I think Cameron can handle her. Let's take the parking garage elevator." Danny nodded and walked into the parking garage ahead of John, signaling the all-clear before heading ahead to check the elevator.

It opened and nobody was in it, so Geller again signaled for John to move up. "When I'm out, close the doors. Two knocks will let you know it's clear."

John nodded and held his hand on the button.

Once Geller was out, he pressed repeatedly until the elevator doors slid closed but the lift did not move. After around thirty seconds, there were two knocks on the doors and John filed out behind Geller, who continued to take point as they navigated the hallways. Eventually, they'd made it to John Henry's office.

But he wasn't in the room.

John checked around a corner and thought he saw movement. "Got movement."

"Should we yell for him?"

"I don't know."

"We could use military challenges. John Henry's got to know the countersigns."

"If these are mercenaries, they could know them, too."

"Maybe. Let me move up." John backed off and let Geller take his cover spot while he moved back to where Geller was in order to cover him. "Star!"

No response.

He tried again, "Star!" before dropping back to his low voice, "Come on, say Texas, dammit..."

"Texas!" John recognized the voice. It was definitely John Henry.

"John Henry?"

"Yes."

John signaled for Geller to ease up and they both holstered their sidearms before walking into the room John Henry was standing in. It was a single-person bathroom. The CEO's private one.

John looked puzzled. "Why did you take so long to countersign?"

"I was researching the subject."

"What?"

"I had to process your voices, make sure I recognized them, and then I had to research the subject. Every country and even every military branch may occasionally have different challenges and countersigns."

All the while, John Henry had been looking at Geller with an expression of recognition on his face. Geller noticed. "Something on my face?"

"No. I know you."

"Interesting. But, we need to go help Cameron."

John Henry paused for a second to stare into space before looking at Geller. "No. She's on her way up here."

"Good."

Cameron was in the room a few seconds later, giving them the status of the situation. "It's resolved."

John's face was puzzled. "Meaning?"

"John, trust me. Please?"

"Okay. So, who were they?"

"They were part of the group that was working at Rocky Ridge."

"So Kaliba's somehow traced everything back to Zeira Corp.?"

"And they're after John Henry. Possibly."

"If they know what he is."

Geller shook his head. "Considering that they attacked this place, they know what he is."

"So what do we do?" John was pacing back and forth before he stopped to look out the window. He saw her, staring up at them. "No... Cameron, didn't you handle her?"

"Who?"

"The machine!"

"I assumed she was offline. It lasted for more than one hundred and twenty seconds."

"Well it obviously wasn't permanent! She's staring at us. Is she a threat?! Is she going to come after us?!" Cameron walked over beside John to look at the woman staring at them.

"She would have moved by now. But we should head for the parking garage. Take a car from there." She looked at John Henry. "What will you do?"

"I have to stay."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. Go. If need be, I'll hold her off."

As they ran, John was sure she was observing their exit from the room. And he couldn't have been more correct as the machine made her move to chase after them. She was sure that this random person had to be John Connor, considering his machine partner and connection with John Henry.

John ran over to a black car that was unlocked and hot-wired it, but Cameron nudged him out of the way. "Let me drive."

"Why?"

"Safer."

"Okay."

As they backed out, the machine came around the corner and dashed at their stolen car, grabbing the bottom of it and lifting up before it had the chance to back out. With a hard push, she had managed to flip the vehicle over into the empty space before it.

It took a while for John to figure out what had just happened and begin crawling out of the car. It was when he was halfway out that he realized what a stupid idea it was, as the mysterious female Terminator grabbed his arm and yanked him out with such force that he slid all the way across the three empty space beside them and hit his head on the wheel of the truck that was parked there, four spaces over.

He coughed and spit out a little bit of blood before looking up as the machine approached him. "Bitch!"

Then in his mind he asked himself where was Cameron? That force wasn't nearly enough to knock her out.

He had brushed with death many times, but why did this time seem so different? This was where Derek had died. It would probably be his place of death, as well.

Maybe that's why. Maybe it's because it's actually going to happen this time.

Geller and Cameron weren't so much as moving. But he could hear Geller. Good that he was still alive.

Why was that slow breathing so loud to him?

Perhaps it was not the sound of his friend's last few breaths but the sound of Death.

He quickly shook off that idea as absurd. Death was an idea, an event, not something that could breathe.

Why was this taking so long? She should have snapped his neck by now! And what was that breathing?! It was so loud! He couldn't bear to open his eyes or even look up. He kept telling him self to focus on the concrete floor. The machine was probably going to slam his head into it as a quick and efficient way of killing him anyway, so why focus on anything else?

And then the sound of the breathing changed... Same pace, same rhythm but somehow different. The sound was different. More like hard hits, with a faint metal clanging sound.

Were they... Fighting?

He was too afraid to look until he heard her.

"John, run!"

But he couldn't move.

Yet he felt a hand on his shoulder, and when he looked... It was Derek? No, Geller. But the two looked so similar. Geller grabbed John's hand and helped him up so that they could run.

But John wasn't sure where to go.

He had only one thing in mind: run, survive. Live to fight.

And he swore to himself that that's what he was going to do.

* So here it is, FINALLY! Right? The next chapter. A little shorter than the rest, but some things have definitely happened. My last update was 11-11-09 and here it is, 03-23-10. March is 03, right? Sorry, I'm really... Yeah, scatterbrained I guess you could say? I've had horrible writer's block, but I'm just hoping that my fans haven't totally abandoned me. You stuck with me the last time I had writer's block, right? Granted, I don't think that one lasted as long as this time. But please, read, enjoy, and comment. I will be updating some of my other stories and posting new ones, as well, so stay tuned, please?


	21. Episode 209 Midday Sun

Episode 209 – Midday Sun

It was extremely hot, too much so to be running in the clothes that John and Geller were wearing, yet they knew they couldn't stop. John's vision was being distorted by the heat waves rising from every surface around him, and the waves of pain that pulsed through him with every step caused him to fall over several times, forcing Geller to stop and help him up.  
John definitely knew he had a few broken ribs, at least. Bruises covered his torso, legs, and invisible ones existed under his hair, on top of his head.

After some time of running, he threw his arm out to stop Geller. "Wait, wait… We have to go back!"  
"Why?!" Geller spit up some blood and looked around the deserted alley in which they stood. "John, what are you thinking?"  
"We have to fight!"  
"John! We can't even see that thing! How are we supposed to fight it?!"  
"We'll figure something out! We have to… Wait, it knows Cameron can see and stop it. It might not cloak and then we can see to hit it."  
"All of our guns were in the vehicle." He shook his head and sat down on a stack of pallets, running his hand through his sweaty, bloody hair. "This is one time when we can't do anything but run, John! Think!"

John nodded and ran with Geller. They had no idea where they were going to go, but they knew it had to be somewhere safe.

But nowhere was safe. Sarah had always taught John that.

And, for the most part, it had turned out to be true.

John had thought that maybe there was more meaning in his mother's words. That what she truly meant was to stop hiding, and fight.

He looked left and nodded toward the door there, on the alley wall. "What kind of a place was this?"

Geller scratched his head. "Um, gun store I think. Looked closed."

"Why? Is it a holiday?"

"I don't know. Owner could be sick, no one to cover for him. Why, where are you going with this?"

"Can we get this door open?"

"John, what? What are you thinking?"

"We fight."

"But John-" He knew he wasn't going to listen so he started looking for anything that could get the steel door open. He'd remembered that he was carrying, so he whipped out the handgun, stood as far away as he could, and aimed it at the lock.

"Geller, the noise! It's going to funnel right out into the street."

"I don't suppose you have a silencer?"

John shook his head and Geller once again took aim. The loud, thundering sound as gasses escaped from the gun barrel ricocheted around the alley walls and, as John had guessed, spilled into the streets. They both examined the lock, but there was only a tiny dent.

Geller was forced to quickly tuck away his piece and slip back onto the pallet as a man came running into the alleyway. "What in the world?"

He only saw John tending to Geller's wounds and nothing else, so he shook his head and walked away. As soon as the man was gone, they both stood back up and looked at the lock again. John noticed it had separated itself slightly from the door.

"Hey, hey, we might be able to pry it off now!"

Just then Geller thought of something that he didn't realize before.

"John, I saw a hardware store a few doors down, we might be able to find something in there that might help us get through this lock."

John took off sprinting down the street until he located this hardware store. He pushed the door open and ran inside. It was neatly stocked as most hardware stores are and in no time he was able to find a crowbar and a large hammer. With his newly found items he ran out of the store and back towards the gun store where Geller was watching for any danger that seemed to be in the area.

"Okay, stand back." John stated as he put the crowbar in place. Two hits and the lock had finally fallen off the door.

John was swiftly jumping the counter of the store. "What the hell kind of gun shop is this? They really don't have much of a selection now do they?"

"Wait, John, what is that?" Geller pointed towards a small red button located under the counter. He reached over and pushed the button, a glass showcase of guns slowly moved over to the side revealing a hidden door. As John pushed the door open, he gasped, then turned slowly with what could be called a 'shit eating grin'.

Inside the room was nothing less than a military type cache of pistols, rifles, and ammunition. They both grabbed a few duffle bags located near the entrance to the 'secret room' and began filling them with everything they could carry. John had his selection already made up when he saw them. John filled his bag with choice ammunition for a Hi-point Carbine 9mm, a Mossberg 835 12gauge, and a Bushmaster AR15. Walking back towards the exit, what John saw next completely took his breath away.

Standing alone at the end of the shelf was a MK211 50 caliber BMG with 10 boxes of ammo next to it labeled 'Raufoss RDX'. John remembered exactly what his uncle had to said to him:

"Raufoss. Mk211 round. Tungsten core, armor piercing, high explosive incendiary. Hits with the force of a 20mm Cannon. I saw your dad take down a HK with one of those, he liked it more than his plasma rifle."

"So this is going to kill it?"

"It'll make it stop. Reconsider its life choices."

John couldn't help but smile to himself in memory of his uncle.

"Terminator killers. Incendiary rounds. Hits with the force of a 20mm Cannon. 2 shots, 3 at the most, and it is as good as dead."

"I'd like your deadliest gun please."

"Isle 6, next to the sympathy cards."

They both stopped for a minute and chuckled. Remembering the grave situation they were in, they both finished filling up the weapons and bags with ammunition and ran out of the store.

John shouldered the MK211 as he was running, placing more ammunition into his pockets. He just hoped that he could make it back to save Cameron in time...

The battle in the parking garage was raging intensely, as Cameron and the machine threw each other around, yet up in the head office on the highest floor, all was calm, quiet.

John Henry simply stared out of the window, contemplating the war that man was fighting; contemplating telling John and Cameron why all of this was happening, why Weaver had done what she did and why there were people after John Henry.

He assumed that they must know these people after him were working for Kaliba-CRS, but that they didn't have a handle on the whole story.

It was time to tell them, soon. But, from his live security feed, he knew that it would have to wait until the battle with the mysterious machine was over.

He knew she was part of it all, as well.

But what role was she really playing in the grand scheme of things?

As they loaded their weapons quickly in the alleyway, John had an idea which he conveyed to Geller, "Hey, there was a high point, like a rooftop with pretty good sight lines to the parking garage, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, we'll use the Raufoss rounds and take our shot from there."

"Wasn't it an apartment building?"

"Yeah, I think so. Means it should be easy to get rooftop access."

"Yeah, let's go." Geller popped a mag in the Bushmaster and darted down the street, with John on his tail. They were already able to hear the sounds of combat as they darted through the apartment building's entrance and up to the roof.

"I'll get dialed in."

"I'll cover you. In case anyone shows up."

"Okay." He lay flat on his stomach at the edge of the roof top and adjusted the sights on the scope.

There was a lot of movement, but as soon as clear shot opened up, John pulled the trigger, watching in awe through the scope as the machine's cranial unit blew apart in metal and composite shrapnel.

Cameron had the machine pinned down then and then stared up at the roof where John and Geller were, faintly smiling once she'd realized who it was.

The little bit of attention that was drawn to the blast was subverted by Geller's personality and Cameron's "limited psychological subroutines" being employed.

After the events of the day had died down, the group headed for their house and took the time to rest there.

While staring out the window of his room, John kept asking himself what that machine was after. Unfortunately, the bullet had turned its CPU completely into dust so it would have been impossible to get any mission data in order to find out.

Little did he know, someone was about to call who did know. When his phone rang, John picked it up and wasn't surprised by the voice of John Henry. "Hello, John."

"Yeah?"

"We need to meet, again."

"We were just there."

"Yes, but it's important."

"Alright, we'll be there."

"No, just you."

"Why just me?"

"I'll explain once you're here." There was a brief silence and then a dial tone, so John pressed the hang up key and slid open his window, convinced that Geller and Cameron would never let him go on his own.

He ran down the street, asking to himself, "How in the world am I going to get there?" And then his question was answered as he found a taxi picking someone up from their home. He asked the driver to stop and if he could take on one more.

"Thanks, man. Do you know where the Zeira Corp. head office building is?"

"Yes, I do."

"Okay." He looked at the man beside him as he sat back in the seat. "Hey."

The man said nothing.

"Okay, silence is good."

"You're going to Zeira Corp.?" His voice was deep, with a foreign inflection.

"Yeah."

"What a coincidence."

"Wha-you are, too?"

"I have something to discuss with their new CEO. John Henry... What a curious name."

"You know the story?"

"Partially, yes."

"And... This business, is it private?"

"Not so much, no. I can discuss it. You see, Zeira Corp. is a competitor of mine. I am the owner of a corporate entity known as Kaliba-CRS, a mechanics and cybernetics firm, similar to Zeira Corp."

"Oh, I see." It was hard for John. This man was a threat to everything they were doing, and here they were, in the same Taxi Cab.

"And your business?"

"He phoned me and asked me to come. He didn't tell me why."

"Well, then, I am certain it will be important for the both of us. We'll meet him simultaneously."

"Yeah." He nodded and sat back, sighing, awaiting the end of this tense, nerve wracking ride.

The intentions of this man would not be entirely clear until the purpose of John's visit was established, he was sure of that, if nothing else.

So, the wait was made to be nearly unbearable by the looming importance of the coming meeting. It was likely many important details would be revealed and the face of their true enemy would be out in the open, bearing its fangs at them like the monstrous beast it truly is.


	22. Episode 210 Ghosts in the Machine

Episode 210 – Ghosts in the Machine

John and the strange man were both allowed in by Ellison's security, and stood face to face with John Henry.

The nameless man broke the tense silence, "So, I'll let you address this... Young man, first."

John Henry looked at John and gave his eerie, almost real grin before returning to his flat face. "John, I've called you here to explain some things. Catherine Weaver and myself have been preparing endoskeletons, and the... Turk program in an attempt to be accepted for a Defense Contract."

"Defense Contract?"

"Yes, now Romin Kaliba," He nodded toward the formerly nameless man before continuing, "is our primary competitor, and CEO of Kaliba-CRS, formerly Kaliba Industries."

Kaliba nodded, "A humble competitor, yes?"

"No. I know you don't have a working CPU. I know you know that I do, that I'm the Turk program stored on one, in an endoskeleton, and that you've hired thugs to steal my chip."

"I've done no such thing! How dare you-" He stopped mid-sentence, pulled out a strange looking device, stuck it in John Henry's then John Connor's side, and put it away. It was apparently some kind of a TASER, as John Henry simply dropped onto the floor and John dropped there, writhing as electrical currents coursed through his body.

Kaliba grinned as he pulled out a knife and began carving into John Henry's scalp...

It was nearly midnight, and Doctor Eric Wilson, a computer and robotics scientist in his late thirties, with blond brushed back hair, sat in the basement laboratory in his house, staring at the T-600 endoskeleton prototype while he repeatedly threw a ball in the air and caught it.

"600, look at me." Its neck servos whirred as it shifted its head to stare blankly at him, its red glowing eyes not even disturbing the young scientist in the least. "Inquiry: why won't you reason or problem solve without this... Mythical CPU?"

Its synthesized vocal processors spat out the response in modulated monotone, "Inquiry not recognized."

"Though so." He sighed, got up, and walked to an array of touch screen computers at one section of the lab. He browsed through some files, found one, and uploaded it to the AI Directory of the machine. After that, he grabbed an M4 off of a rack and brought it over to a table in the middle of the room.

Suddenly, an alarm buzzed at the computer station and he walked back over to check it out. He discovered that someone was at his front door. Looking up at the 600 from the computer, he gave it its order, "Field strip that and put it back together. Keep repeating."

The machine moved toward the table, its slow, heavy metallic steps bearing sharp contrast to Eric's fast, leather on wood steps as he ascended the stairs to check the door.

When he pulled the door back, he was surprised to see a mysterious hooded figure who handed him a small aluminum case. "Don't ask about where it came from. You don't need to know." The raspy, deep voice was a little bit familiar, but it would turn out that Eric wouldn't have the chance to ask him about it since the man was gone the next time he looked up.

"Hmm... Okay, strange..." He didn't bother opening the case yet because he wanted to hurry and check the 600's progress. Unfortunately, it had only succeeded in breaking and bending many parts of the gun beyond all recognition. "No, dammit, stop!"

It instantly assumed its normal stance.

He shook his head in a feeling of utter failure and absentmindedly opened the case. At first, he barely glanced at its contents, but once the shape of the object finally registered in his brain, he quickly shifted his gaze to take a long look at what was inside.

This was it, the chip, the Holy Grail, so to speak, of this entire project. It was a unique processor designed to collect and interpret real world data just as the cognitive functions of humans do. A Quantum Cognitive Processor, or QCP was the term that Eric had coined so long ago, in the first meeting with his team over this project.

Back when they'd mysteriously been sent blueprints for an endoskeleton, in a very strange e-mail.

He shifted his gaze back and forth between the CPU and T-600 before pulling the QCP out of its statically insulated baggie and setting it aside as an idea popped into his head.

He walked back over to the computer station and brought up the AI Directory for the robot, purging all but the most basic and necessary files. This turned the T-600 into a clean slate, because Eric knew once the chip was in, he could afford it no advantage. It would have to learn and grow on its own, as that was the QCP's job.

"600, stand over at the work table." It followed Eric's order and placed itself in front of a metal table with grooves seemingly built in to accommodate its shape and restraints to hold it in place while work was being done on it.

He locked the restraints and titled the table back on a forty five degree incline. He sighed and pulled an air tool from the overhead rack, checking the pressure before pulling the trigger to make sure it spun up.

He flinched when the air tool whirred and glanced at the endoskeleton before checking the restraints again. The machine just stared blankly at the ceiling, which disappointed Eric. He had hoped it would show even the faintest knowledge of the importance of what was about to happen to it. "Initiate shutdown."

Once the piercing red glow of its eyes had faded, he inserted the hex bit of the tool into the CPU cover's locking piece and pulled the trigger on the air tool, watching carefully until the cover popped loose, at which point he used a flat head screwdriver to finally pry it off it and sat it aside.

He sighed, realizing that the moment of truth was at hand. He popped in the QCP, rotated the table back to a standing position, and pulled a lever on the back of it that unlocked all restraints.

He quickly took a position at the computer area so that he could watch the boot up sequence. He was excited as files he'd never seen before were being loaded into the AI Network Architecture. Apparently, the program he created and the chip's inherent files were interfacing perfectly, and soon the red glow returned to the 600's eyes.

But something was going wrong, the machine nearly broke the restraints off as it quickly moved out of them and started heading for a sliding glass door near one side of the lab which led onto Eric's lawn.

"No, no, stop!" It briefly looked at him, but turned back to the door, shattering the glass and bending the metal as it bolted out.

Eric promptly initiated the shutdown sequence, and the GPS tracking system showed the unit stopped approximately one and a half meters from the door it broke.

-Back at the Zeira Corporation CEO's Office, some five hours prior to QCP integration, but not even half an hour after the attack.-

Darkness, faded images, a shock… Voltage… At first, John couldn't remember everything that happened, but then it came to him as he felt a continuous pressure on his chest. Something clicked; someone was doing CPR on him.

Was he dead? Then how could he be thinking?

He coughed and bolted upright, shoving the hand out of the way.

"You okay?"

It took John a second to focus, but once he had, he recognized the man standing above him. The Paramedic, Lloyd Friedman.

"Yeah..." He shifted his gaze right to see Geller, Cameron, and a few technicians standing over the body of John Henry. John gasped when he saw the CPU cover laying there and the port wide open, with no chip in it.  
"Dammit... Kaliba..."

Cameron looked at John when she heard the name. "Kaliba?"

"Yeah, they took him. He took him. A man named Kaliba, CEO of Kaliba-CRS."

Ellison entered the room and waved his security guards and Lloyd out so that he was alone with John, Cameron, and Geller. "We've canvassed the entire building. The man isn't here."

"Why would he do that? Why would he take John Henry's chip? Don't they already have Skynet?" John scratched his head and bent over the offline body of the company's CEO.

Cameron suddenly came to a realization, and felt like sharing. "The chip."

"What?"

"It's not the program, but the chip it's on."

John nodded and looked out the window. "Now, that would make sense... If they had Skynet, but they needed a chip to make it run, or at least to make it run as good as it's supposed to..."

Geller spoke up, "That's all well and good, but we don't even know who has the chip now. Or where it is."

John sat down at the desk and awoke the computer from its sleep cycle. It was already logged on to a user, so all he had to do was open up the internet and begin researching.

"Well, Kaliba-CRS openly admits on their website that they have an R&D Department devoted specifically to AI. They own multiple mechanics companies, including Rocky Ridge and Iron Valley... Old news... Here we go. Their chief researcher into project codenamed "Skynet" is Eric Wilson. No address listed. But we do have a phone number."

Ellison nodded. "Give it to me and I'll see if I can use my Bureau contacts to get an address."

"Okay... 323-555-3250..."

Ellison was typing the number into the Notes application on his iPhone, and nodded once he was done before walking off to dig up the needed intel.

"What now?"

Cameron responded without looking away from the street below as she stood in front of the window, "We wait."

Eric Wilson hadn't gone to bed until 4:32am, but he was awoken at noon by the loud ringing of his phone on the bedside table. Grumpily, he answered it. "Yeah?"

"Mr. Wilson, how are you today?" It was a woman's voice that he didn't recognize. "Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners? This is Commander Larson of Military Procurement. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Oh, no, it's fine." He instantly shot up and began pulling on clothes while he conversed with the woman. "To... Uh, to what pleasure do I owe this call?"

"I was considering stopping by today, to see your home lab. Touch base with you on the status of the contract, all that. I'd like to actually meet the prototype myself."

"Well..." He chuckled at the irony, "It's not really the conversationalist, but I'm sure you'll get along with it."

"Good, good... Well, I should be by at around 1 or so."

"Okay. See you then."

"Bye." The phone clicked and she hung up right as Eric had his pants pulled halfway up.

Pretty soon, he was down in the lab, with a lab coat on and everything, taking notes on the clip board. He stared at the endoskeleton, its inner workings being visible as there was no armor plating on the machine as there normally would be with the Skynet mass produced models.

He decided that maybe, just maybe, it might act differently this time, so he decided to boot it up. Tapping keys and watching the rising power levels, he braced himself for the possibility that it would go berserk again.

But that didn't happen. Instead, as soon as it had booted up, it simply scanned the room before resuming its normal posture.

Eric stood in front of it and chuckled. "Oh, no no no no no, you cannot play me like this! If you're like this now, then what was that last night? Huh?"

It shifted its gaze toward him and activated its voice synthesizer, "Inquiry not recognized."

"No, I know you know what I'm talking about! My inquiry is recognized! Listen to me! Why did you freak out last night?"

"Diagnostic complete at 1233 hours. Motor control was deferred to QCP module, inherent programming contained on QCP directed the servomechanisms to move as they did."

"Inherent programming? Specify."

"Specification not possible."

"Infer."

"Not enough data."

"Dammit... We call you Artificial Intelligence, but you act more like... Realistic stupidity... Time?"

"1234, 1235 hours."

"Great... So I have 25 minutes to find out what's wrong with you. Defer all AI subroutine control to QCP Module."

After a few seconds, there was a ding coming from the computer to notify Eric that the 600 had carried out the order.

"600, do you know where you are?"

"The home of Eric Wilson, chief researcher of Kaliba-CRS' Artificial Intelligence division."

"Wait a minute... Wouldn't you normally give me coordinates, like the GPS location?"

"Former statement was simpler."

Eric looked at the machine in awe before a large smirk formed on his face. He walked over to a gun rack and pulled off another M4, sitting it on the table in the middle of the lab. "Field strip this M4, put it back together, and repeat three times."

And so the 600 did successfully and quickly, only taking 5 minutes total to finish carrying out its orders.

"You... You didn't break it." He pulled out an M4 magazine and handed it to the machine. "Don't put this in until in the target range."

It turned and proceeded through a sliding metal door, with Eric following. The machine took its place, inserted the magazine into the M4, and pulled back the bolt. "Weapon is hot."

Eric pulled on some earmuffs, turned to a computer terminal at his left, and started the program. Several ports in the wall slid open and wheeled robots, carrying cardboard target cutouts on their backs began zipping across the room.

Nervously, Eric looked at the former results of this test on the terminal screen. Nearly every time, the 600 had missed the targets but destroyed the robots.

But as he turned back to watch it now, he was amazed that none of the robots were harmed but the targets were littered with bullet holes.

The 600 had stopped firing when the magazine ran out. "Empty magazine. Targets hit: 5 out of 6. Target carrying robots damaged or destroyed: 0 out of 6."

Eric recalled the robots and looked joyfully at the 600 prototype. "Well, good result is good, wouldn't you say?"

"That is redundant."

"I know. That's the point."

"Understood." It nearly knocked Eric over as it lumbered through the sliding metal door, placing the M4 back on the table and standing in its usual spot.


	23. Episode 211 Light in the Dark

Episode 211 – A Light in the Dark

Once again, Eric Wilson's computer made an alert sound to notify him that someone was at his door, so he ran up the stairs, assuming it was Commander Larson.

"She's early." He pulled the door back and saw that it was a female dressed in a military uniform. "Commander Larson?"

"Yes."

"Well, come in. I'm glad that you're finally here. I just ran a test on the unit... Uh, it's gotten better scores this time than ever before."

"Because of the QCP, right?"

"Yeah. We've finally produced one that works. Oh, let me show you to the basement... Basement Lab." He chuckled and held out his hand in the direction of the basement. "Just follow me."

They walked down the stairs and were greeted by air several degrees cooler than the floor above. "Why is it so cold in here compared to upstairs?"

"Well, the cooling components of the drones haven't been perfected yet, so we need it to be a little bit cooler in order to prevent overheating of several vital components. But the QCP is superconducting at room temperature, so we're hoping that, if the chips can be mass produced, then we won't need as much in the area of cooling components."

"Now, I'm no professor of computer science, so what exactly does super conducting at room temperature mean?" They stopped at the bottom of the stairs and she gazed at the drone in awe. "That's it?"

"Yes. Now, superconducting at room temperature... Well, the best explanation would be that you know how computers need a lot of fans to run? Well, electrical processes create a lot of heat, and in those high heat conditions, normal computer circuits can't conduct as well, so there's a large need for those fans and airflow. When a chip can perform all of its operations normally at room temperature and not need cooling then, that's what we call superconducting at room temperature."

"Very interesting." During his whole explanation, she hadn't really paid much attention. She was right beside the drone, stroking its metal contours. "Beautiful."

"Yes, it is, isn't?"

She turned to look at him. "So, from whom did you steal the QCP?"

"Wh... What?" His face had taken on an arrogant smirk, in a way that seemed that he didn't take accusations of thievery seriously.

"From whom did you steal it?"

"Steal? No, it wasn't stolen."

"I checked with CRS. There were no records of a finished QCP, Mr. Wilson. But there was a record of a finished and working QCP at Zeira Corp. which has been stolen, so suffice it to say, I already know from whom. I was just hoping you'd confess, make this easier on yourself."

"Look, I had no idea where it came from. Midnight last night, some strange man knocked on my door and handed me a package. Inside was the processor. I'd no idea was stolen."

"Ignorance is no excuse. I'm afraid that we're moving up the deadline. You no longer have two months. If we don't have 250,000 drones by two weeks from now, we're handing the contract over to Zeira Corp."

"Wait, wait... If we lose this contract, I lose my job. I have a family."

"Come on now, you have a working chip. Although it may be stolen, I think two weeks is more than enough. I'm being very lenient."

"Fine. So be it." He slammed the clipboard he was holding down on the computer desk by him. "May I show you out?"

"Please."

Later that night, Eric was sitting at the kitchen counter, with a full glass of Wine he was planning on drinking. He dumped the drink down the sink and walked over to a grand piano placed in his rather large living room. One side of the room was a wall entirely made of windows with one door that led onto the balcony, where he saw his wife staring out at the moon.

Smiling, he started playing the melody he'd written for her. The driving left hand, playing a single chord with a beat that seemed like it belonged more in a percussion line, then he introduced the melody, and added two extra beats to the left hand, but used a less complex chord.

And then a break, with four chords each lasting for two measures, before he resumed playing the melody and rhythm sequences again, making each on slightly more complex. And then, rather than finishing the song, he used the notes of the melody to play a haunting and repetitive Ostinato.

*Author's note: Sorry to break here, but I didn't want people to be confused. I envision this as like a TV show in my mind, where you can watch and listen to it. In case anyone was wondering, near the beginning, when Eric was playing the piano, I was trying to describe him playing a piano arrangement of the Terminator theme and an Ostinato is the official term for "riff" and the "haunting and repetitive Ostinato" wasn't part of the Terminator theme, I was trying to imply that he changed songs, but used the same notes as the Terminator theme. And a typical repetitive Ostinato would be like A, C, A, D and just keep repeating with slight changes. The one I was thinking of him playing here was one I wrote and called it "Cameron's Ostinato". But sorry to interrupt the story.

His wife entered the house right as he started adding a melody to accompany his Ostinato, and smiled at the somber beauty of it. He moved over as a way of motioning for her to sit and she did, while she also brought up her hands to try to add more to what Eric was playing.

He smiled at the complex beauty of four hands working together like this. He stopped and ran his hands through her brown hair. He turned her head to face him and kissed her. "I love you. You know that, right?"

"Yes, Eric."

"And if I've had to make some... Tough, maybe bad decisions, would you still love me?"

"Eric, what are you talking about?" By this time, she had stopped playing as well.

"I think I've willingly taken something that was stolen... Perhaps violently stolen."

"What do you mean?"

"You know my drone, and how I had to have the QCP for it?"

"Yeah, the processor thing. You know I don't know that tech stuff. I'm a music teacher in an elementary school."

"Someone gave it to me, and I've just learned it was stolen. The woman I told you about, from Military Procurement, said it was stolen from Zeira Corp. I had no idea when I got it."

"Honey, I don't know what to tell you. Let things unfold on their given path. Now let me go make us dinner." As she got up and walked away, he began moving his fingers quickly over the keys, playing the complex song 'Revolutionary Etude' by Chopin.

The home of John, Cameron, and Geller was quiet. It was late at night, but everyone was still awake, too busy, too consumed with wandering thoughts to sleep.

Geller and John just sat on the couch, not speaking while Cameron looked out the window.

The first noise was when John yawned, provoking Cameron to turn and face him. "You need to get some sleep. I can wake you if anything happens."

"No, it's fine, really. I need to wait for Ellison's call."

"You're not going to do any good on a rescue mission if you're tired, John. Please sleep."

He nodded and lumbered off to bed but Geller stayed behind. "Aren't you tired, too?"

"No..." But he couldn't lie when a yawn came. "They're contagious. John yawned, I yawned. And it doesn't always mean you're tired."

"No. It doesn't." She turned back to stare out the window.

"But if you're not willing to make any conversation, then I guess I'll hit the hay." There was no response from her, so he moved to the room he was using.

And Cameron just stood three, watching.

The next morning, her phone rang before either John or Geller were up, and she knew it would be Ellison before she even looked at the caller ID. "Yes?"

"I've got what you wanted. Are they up yet?"

"No."

"So I take it you'll come get it by yourself?"

"Yes."

"Alright. I'll be in the lobby with the file."

"Bye, Mr. Ellison." She flipped the phone closed, loaded a weapon, and walked out to the vehicle.

For Eric Wilson, this day should have been just another day of running tests with the drone in his basement laboratory, but rather he decided to move it out of the home lab and take it to the CRS complex, where a team of scientists, well versed on the subject could assist him.

One of the chief researchers into QCP technology, and Eric's oldest friend, was busy plugging wires into various into ports on the drone's cranial unit until Eric interrupted him. "William Alexander, the man with two first names and the best damn cracker here, how long has it been since we've talked?"

"A couple of weeks. You've spent all that time, cooped up in the basement with this babe here. That's what your wife told me."

"Well, she always did love her gossip. It's been bugging me. I've felt like I haven't spent enough time with her lately. So I figured the 600 would be in good hands here, at least long enough for me to take Sarah out to dinner."

"Oh, you can count on it."

"Okay, so let's get started with a few diagnostics. I want to know why what happened, happened." He moved over to a computer and ran his hands over the keyboard while Will and several other scientists visually inspected the drone's combat chassis for any damage.

"Eric, Eric, what's this?"

"What?"

"This extra module in the chest... What is it?"

"Oh, it's a new power distribution node. The drone was having trouble with getting enough power to the right systems, so I made a few modifications."

"You should have put this on file."

"Didn't I? I could have sworn I documented everything..."

"Don't worry about it... But, wow, a working QCP?"

"Well, _mostly _working."

"Right. I'm sure we'll figure it out. What kind of a problem exactly are we having with it?"

"The night I put it in, the QCP integrated, but well, the drone ran outside for some reason and broke a door on its way. Then, the next day, it was working just fine... Well, better than fine. It got a near perfect score on the target practice test and when I asked it to strip an M4, it didn't break anything."

"Great... Oh, oh, what was Sarah's last name before you married her?"

"Um... Baum, why?"

"You mean like L. Frank Baum, the author of the Wizard of Oz?"

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason. It's just that I could have sworn she looks exactly like Sarah Connor, the crazy lady who blew up Cyberdyne."

"That's weird. I thought that, too, but I just let it go. We were so madly in love, it didn't matter to me."

Will nodded and went back to checking over the systems of the 600, marking on a clipboard everything he saw.

Cameron came back inside the Connor safe house a few hours after she had left, carrying a heavy bag of equipment. John was on the couch, booting up a laptop he'd bought while Cameron was gone. "Cam, what's all that?"

"Necessary equipment to infiltrate the Wilson estate. Planning time." She threw the huge bag down on the table, barely missing John's new toy. From it, she pulled the blueprints of the home and unrolled it over the table's surface, pinning the corners down with several knickknacks. "There's a balcony overlooking the cliff here. We can take the opposite cliff, set up a zip-line, and ride it down to the balcony. Geller can maintain his position on the cliff, monitoring the equipment and taking aim with the 50 caliber rifle."

John nodded. "Okay, that makes sense. I take it we'll bring Thermite?"

"Yes. We leave at 2000 hours."

"8 PM."

"Yes."

So they just waited that entire day for 8 PM to roll around, and when it finally did, they hit the open road. It had only taken a little over 20 minutes for them to arrive at their spot on the cliff and start setting up equipment. John handed Cameron a large, strange looking gun.

"You're the most accurate, so you should take the shot with the zip-line gun." She nodded and took it from his arms.

Geller was setting up the tripod for the night scope. "Okay, just let me dial in." The large ping of the mechanics of the zip-line gun caused him to jump and nearly knock the scope setup over. "Damn!"

"Line's set." She began fastening the hand hold system to the line. "There will be a harness, with a quick release which you can disengage once you reach the balcony.

John nodded before he heard Geller gasp. "Oh my..."

"Geller?"

"John, look through the scope. Look who's playing the piano in the living room."

John placed his eye against the device and gazed, moving the scope toward the piano. As soon as he saw who it was, he backed away and began strapping himself in the zip-line harness.

Cameron had already seen who it was, and didn't even try to stop John.

He sped down the line, briefly enjoying the thrill before dropping out of the harness and onto the balcony. He pulled a hammer from the armored vest he was wearing and smashed it into the window wall, creating a hole through which he could enter the house. "Mom?"

She'd stopped playing the piano, and was just smiling at him. "Hello, John."


	24. Episode 212 Sarah Connor

Episode 212 – Sarah Connor

"Mom... I thought you were dead... I saw you get shot!"

"No, John, you didn't see me get shot."

"What are you talking about? Tell me what happened!"

"I've been alive this entire time." She turned away from him and positioned her hands on the keys of the piano, but stopped herself. "It was Weaver."

She was having a flash back. It was late at night, at the old Connor safe house. Cameron, Sarah, and Catherine Weaver were gathered in the dimly lit living room, trying to be as quiet as possible as to not wake John. "And you're sure you can bleed like us? Like a human?"

Catherine nodded. "I still don't see why you would want to fake your death, Ms. Connor."

"I'm going under cover. Deep. It could last for years. I don't need John to follow me, I need him to think I'm dead." She turned to Cameron. "Promise me you won't let anything happen to him."

"I promise." Cameron was caught by surprise when Sarah hugged her.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too."

Sarah let Cameron go and nodded. "I have to go now. What will you do once the Coroner puts you in the van, though? Will you kill them?"

"Most likely." Weaver said this as she nodded, seeming nearly human.

"Well I won't ask you not to. It may be necessary." She picked up the bag and headed toward the door, as she said some last words without turning around. "Cameron, if you break your promise, I'll come after you with a bag full of Thermite."

"I understand." Sarah's memory ended as she placed her hand on the door knob.

"You were under cover this entire time? Doing what?" He simply slumped against one of the unbroken windows and ran his hand through his hair. Then there was the sound of the zip system and someone else landing on the balcony. It was Cameron, who slid down beside John and took his hand.

"Biding my time. Gathering as much intel as possible. I knew you'd find this place soon, so I had to be ready."

"Mom, they took John Henry."

"I know. I've talked to him."

"What?"

She didn't have a chance to respond as the door opened and Eric Wilson walked in, instantly freezing in his tracks when he saw the broken window, Cameron, and John. "Sarah, baby, what's all this?"

John instantly shot up and pulled the handgun from the holster attached to the thigh supports of his tactical gear. He pointed it at Eric. "Down on your knees. Now, you son of a bitch!"

Eric threw his hands up, letting his suit coat drop, put them behind his head, and dropped to his knees.

Sarah walked over to John and placed her hand on the barrel of his gun, forcing him to lower it. "John, no."

"But, mom..."

"No." She shook her head.

"You know who he is. What he does."

"I know, but what have I always told you? No killing. We can just explain to him like we did to Dyson."

Eric gasped. "Dyson? Miles Dyson? And did he say 'mom'?"

"John is... John is my son. His name's John Connor. And my name's Sarah Connor. It always has been, always will be."

John looked at Cameron. "How can we prove it to him?"

Cameron walked over to Eric. "Stand up. Look into my eyes." He did as she said and gazed into her eyes as she forced more power into them, causing them to light up and a blue glow to spill through the flesh covering. "I'm a machine."

"What do you mean?"

"Like your prototype. But more advanced. A T-888 Hyperalloy Combat Chassis, covered in a synthesized flesh infiltration sheath, model number TOK-715."

"Who made you?"

"Skynet."

"Skynet? But that program... It's too primitive. It could barely operate the T-600 drone."

"But it's growing. Soon, Skynet will become self aware, and will begin to fear for its safety. It'll see all humans as a threat to its existence and begin to tap into every military network on the globe. The system will gain access to the ICBM launch codes of every significant military force on the planet and begin targeting specific areas of human population.

"First, it will access Russia's missile systems and target several United States cities, including LA, New York City, Chicago, and Washington D.C., among many others."

"My God..."

" Russia will launch a counter attack. Countries will begin launching ICBMs at each other. But humanity will survive. Approximately half of the world's population will be able to seek out shelter. Most will join the Resistance, a globally organized guerrilla military seeking to destroy Skynet and save humanity. John Connor will lead the Resistance, and deliver the final blow which takes out Skynet."

"But if Skynet is taken out..."

"Skynet believes it can win by taking out John Connor in the past, so it eventually creates Time Displacement Equipment and begins organizing significant forces in the past to stockpile necessary resources and take out specific VIPs of the Resistance."

"What about the chip? The QCP?"

"The CPU you have contains an advanced AI program, developed by Zeira Corporation, named John Henry which is an important ally to the Resistance and currently is the CEO of the organization."

"You can have it. And you can do whatever you want with the drone, and all of my research here. But the research where I work is a different story. It's heavily guarded."

John walked up beside Cameron. "Where do you work?"

"The Central Cyber Research Systems complex, in downtown LA. We're actually not too far from the Zeira Corp. central offices."

"Cameron, do we have enough C4 to blow the labs?"

"It depends on how many rooms there are."

"The entire basement level is devoted to our research. Follow me." Sarah, John, Cameron, and Geller, who had just entered, followed Eric to his basement research area. "I've created a special system that'll generate an EMP strong enough to wipe the hardrives and every other digital storage device."

John looked at Cameron. "Are you shielded?"

"Yes."

"Good. Do it." Eric tapped a code into a prompt and a device arose from the middle of the room, with rings spinning quickly and a core emitting a glowing blue light. Suddenly, a blue field of light exploded outward from the device, causing all of the computers to emit a shower of sparks as their relays blew, before finally slowing to a stop and receding back below the concrete floor.

"It's done. But of course there's paper records and all of this data is backed up on the lab computers. As long as we have a sufficient power source, we can bring that device with us." He walked into a storage closet and dragged out several metal barrels. "We normally use these to safely store hydraulic fluids when we change one of the servos but we can burn records in them. Oh, a tool cart might help."

He once again ducked into the storage room and brought out a roll-able table, on which the entire group started dumping the ringed binders stored in the various shelves all over the room. Cameron squirted some of the hydraulic fluids on the papers and dropped a match on it all, causing the entire three barrels full of records to go up in flame.

Geller dumped the ashes into a bin and walked over to the panel in the floor. "How do we get it out?"

"That's the easy part. This thing drains a ton of power."

Cameron had begun removing her shirt, and was now unhooking her bra. It was at that moment which everyone but John looked away. "Don't worry," she said this as she took out a switch blade, "I'll heal."

Eric's curiosity got to him and he managed to watch as Cameron sliced away a two by three inch area of skin, leaving the bottom attached so that it hung and she could easily stitch it back up. Cameron walked over to the metal work table and laid back on it, motioning for John to come to her aid.

He tilted back the table and took down one of the tools after comparing the sizes of the bits to the fastening screws on her chest. "When you unscrew them to a certain degree, the mechanics should open the panel automatically. There will two power cells. Take the one on the left."

"How long do you have left after this?"

"At present consumption rate, twenty years. But don't worry. If we can't stop Skynet, we can take fuel cells from units we destroy."

John nodded and began loosening the screw. It never came out, but there was a loud pop followed by mechanical whirring as the panel slowly opened. He did as Cameron said and pulled up on it, but the cell didn't come out, as it was still attached by cables.

"Cameron, how do I?"

"Out power cells are made to be modular. You can simply unplug the cables." He double checked and saw what she meant. The cables came loose after some tugging and he simply tucked them back into the tray. "Now, push the panel in and hold it while you tighten the release screw."

Again, he followed her instructions and held down the strip of skin after that as he used a staple gun to force the flesh to stay in place until it heals. "Are you good?"

"Perfect."

"Okay. How do we wire this," He held up the power cell and shook it, "To the EMP Module?"

Geller, Sarah, and Eric had already used a hoisting device to pull it up from its spot and were busy unplugging all of the cords hooked into it.

"You can figure that out in the van." Everyone was surprised at this new voice, and they all turned to see Ellison standing there, in an armored vest and holding a gun. He gave a curt nod to Sarah before continuing, "Got an armored van out there. Three actually, but one's for you guys. Loaded with the works."

Ellison pulled out a hand-held radio to signal a team to move in for extraction of the device while the group continued unplugging as many connections as they could.

It didn't take long for Ellison's trained security team to move the device and escort the Connor group safely on board one of the vans. John opened one of the containers to find an M16 rifle and an armored vest, which he handed to Eric. "Suit up."

Eric took the rifle to check it out, examining all of the important details before strapping on the vest and loading the gun. He checked in a compartment near him and found a nine millimeter Springfield XD 9, which he loaded and placed in a holster at his side. "I'm ready."

John nodded, breathing erratically. Cameron noticed this and attempted to console him. "John, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine. Should I have Ellison call a team of EMTs?"

"No, I'm fine."

"I love you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"How sure?"

"A hundred percent."

He chuckled and leaned back in his seat, looking at the device as Geller, Sarah, and Eric attempted to wire it to the fuel cell. He stared lovingly at his mother before simply staring into space, in deep thought. Suddenly, a hand on his shoulder pulled him away from his reverie. He looked to his left and saw Sarah there.

"Hey John."

"Mom... Why did you leave?"

"Do we have to talk about that now?" She'd wrapped her arm around him and was partially cradling him.

He backed away. "Mom, I need to know. Was it because you couldn't handle it anymore? Did you just want to be... Normal?"

"What? John, if I were trying to be normal, then why would I have married the man who takes over most of the work on Skynet? I was infiltrating, under deep cover."

John looked at Eric Wilson, not resenting him in the slightest. "Mom, go to him. I know you want to tell him something, so tell him."

She nodded and took a place on the van's floor beside of him. "Eric. Eric, we need to talk."

"Yeah?" He'd stopped working.

"I love you. I really do. And I'm sorry I lied to you. And I'm sorry that after this, I'll have to leave. I have to be with John now."

"I know. I mean, there's really no reason to tell me. I know. And I'm okay with it. Because I love you, too. And when you love someone, you can't be selfish. You have to know when to let go."

She kissed him one last time, a tear streaming down her face which he wiped away. The van wasn't moving anymore, and Ellison called back from the front. "Alright, everybody, we're here. We're Alpha Squad, we go in first. Bravo will enter after, carrying the device, and Constellation will cover us out here. Lock and load."

John nodded, taking point and leading the others around the van. They stopped at various cover points checking for any signs of movement. He turned to face Ellison, who was right behind him. "Might be a bad time, but is this sanctioned by the police?"

"I got it covered, John. Trust me."

He nodded. "Yeah, I do."

Cameron was looking through the scope of a .308 sniper rifle, examining all of the windows using her chip's vision enhancements. "Everything looks clear. No humans, no machines."

Eric moved up beside Ellison. "That's because we're only working with the prototype here, and I think if your John Henry's really in it, he won't hurt us."

Ellison grunted. "Fall back. Get in your place."

"Alright. I'm a civilian, I don't know anything about this sort of thing. Take it easy."

"Yeah, well we can't exactly afford to take it easy when people could get killed. We need to get the area secured so that Bravo can move in. John, you're still on point."

He nodded and moved up, stopping at more cover and examining the entrance to the building. "Cover me, I'll check if it's locked."

He threw the M16 over his back, allowing the strap to hold it to him before taking out his sidearm and moving to the door. He pushed it, and it gave in, opening. Inside, he pointed his gun around every corner before signaling all clear and allowing the rest of the team to move in. Eric pointed out an elevator. "With my key card, it should get us to the lab."

John nodded and took a position with cover but parallel to the elevator. "I'll cover you, see if your card'll work."

Eric did so, sliding the key into a slot below the up and down buttons. A green light beside it lit up and the doors opened. The entire squad of John, Cameron, Geller, Ellison, Eric and Sarah was able to fit, with their weapons at the ready when the doors opened. But there was nothing for which to be ready, as the entire hallway was deserted and most lights were off.

John stepped out, checking left and right, then he signaled that everything was clear, once again. "Eric, take point, lead us to the lab."

Eric nodded and nervously stepped in front, stopping to scan every room with his rifle ready. They reached a large metal door, with only a key card slot beside it. His worked, and the door swung inwards to reveal a workroom with computer equipment and the 600 prototype standing silently in the center of the room.

Everyone eased up and Ellison took out a hand held radio to signal for the next team to move in.

John gazed in absolute awe at the machine in front of him.

He had no idea what to think, but he knew that John Henry was in there, and he was going to get him out, so he grabbed a power tool. Eric freaked out and stopped him. "John, no! We can't do that until after we use the device. It'll wipe the chip, too."

John let out a lengthy sigh and sat down on one of the chairs as he awaited the arrival of Bravo team. He looked at Sarah, dressed in tactical gear and ready for anything, and he remembered that this was how he'd always remembered her. Strong, tough, ready to fight for him. He realized that really, things haven't changed at all.


	25. Episode 213 Vice

Episode 213: Vice

Bravo team was setting up the device, following Eric's instructions on what goes where while John and Cameron kept watch in the hallway. Sarah was staring at a feed of the building's security cameras. After he was done, Eric opened a locker and pulled out three rod devices.

James Ellison took one, and so did another security team member. Ellison fiddled with it, confused. "What is this?"

"Oh..." Eric pressed a few keys on the larger device's control panel before continuing. "It's a Tesla Enhancer; basically it just expands the range of the EMP so that it will flood this entire floor. The main server network is down here, as well. Off site backups can't be accessed without a signal from the computers here, so that data will become useless and we needn't worry about it."

"Where should I set it up?"

"Go down the hall, take your first left and any of those rooms will do. Of course, halfway down the hall would probably work best."

Ellison nodded, taking the device out of the room for set up while the other person went right down the hall rather than left.

Eric took his closer to the elevator before taking out a hand-held radio. "Clear."

Ellison's voice rang through the device after Eric's. "Clear."

No response from the other man, so Eric talked to Ellison again. "No response from Johnson."

"Get Cameron to check it out."

Eric did so and Cameron began walking down that hall, her M16 at the ready. She found Johnson, his body lying dead on the hall floor. After examination, she'd determined that his neck was broken, so she reached for her radio. "Security breach. There's a machine here."

Suddenly, she was being picked up and thrown down the hallway.

A brief look identified her attacker, a nondescript machine, disguised as a nondescript man. She rushed him, pinned him against the wall, and pummeled his body with swift, hard punches. Suddenly, Eric rounded the corner, holding the same strange looking device which had been used to incapacitate John Connor and John Henry in the Zeira Corp. office.

Eric reached under Cameron's arm to touch the device to the machine and pulled the trigger. It convulsed briefly before falling, limp on the ground. Cameron opened up the CPU port and pulled out the chip. "We're safe now."

Eric pocketed the device and walked back into the T-600 Diagnostic Room to finish the setup of all of the equipment. He opened a laptop and called up the display of a computer simulation. "I've put the data in, and according to this, it should cover the entire floor, Server Farm and all."

Eric opened a panel on the wall and John looked confused while asking, "What's this?"

"A protected compartment. You should put all unshielded devices in here, like those hand-held radios and your cell phones."

Everyone put all of their electronics equipment inside, and when they were finished, Eric sealed up the vault.

John took Cameron's hand as they slid against the wall, bracing themselves for the strange feeling of statically charged air. John was still worried about what may happen to her, but she seemed fine even after the last time.

Eric initiated the pulse, the device spun up and soon let out a large blue glowing light, which spread partially into the halls but nearly stopped until the enhancers activated, buffering the pulse and allowing it to spread through the entire floor. All of the computers and other electronics let out a shower of sparks and even the main power lines were fried, causing the few lights that were on to go out.

Eric was able to unlock the manual release of the vault and began handing out flashlights while Bravo team pulled out manual tools and began removing the CPU Port cap on the T-600 unit. Once their was light on them, the job was happening a lot faster, and while that was going on, Sarah and Cameron began setting up both the machine and human body for a Thermite burning.

Sarah looked at Cameron for what Cameron sensed as 5.73 seconds, prompting the machine to start a conversation. "Is something wrong?"

"No, quite the opposite." She used a flat head to pry off the lid of a canister of Thermite and began sprinkling it over the machine. "You kept your promise. I'm glad."

"You knew I would."

"Actually, no... I didn't. I wasn't sure." She lifted a flap on her tactical vest and pulled out a flare, igniting it and holding it over the Thermite. "But if you hadn't, this could be you."

Sarah let the flare go, causing both bodies to be engulfed in a searing flame. Cameron stared a few seconds before turning around, stopping briefly to say, "Maybe." and then continuing to the other room.

Sarah let out a brief, single chuckle with a smirk on her face and followed Cameron.

The rest of the cleanup had proceeded smoothly, and by 8 AM, the scientists in the employ of Zeira Corp. had managed to successfully reintegrate John Henry's chip with his body, and the mechanical CEO was now functioning perfectly.

Ellison was in his office, skimming over slips of paper and post-it notes, looking for one in particular. He'd found it, a single green post-it note with a phone number on it, which he lay in front of him on the desk as he picked up the phone and dialed the number written.

A gruff voice, sounding as if it hadn't had any good sleep in a long time, answered. "Yeah?"

"Agent Charleston."

"Is it that time already? Listen, I need a shower, some coffee, just got up, an all night stakeout."

"Looking to take a cut from your latest bust? You must be hurting bad. I mean it's been two months since the last drop. Money's real tight when you need your fix."

"Look, man, don't talk to me like that. I'm doing this to help you. You know I take your money to keep cops and feds off your back so you can continue doing what you do with no one breathing down your neck."

"Yeah, it's just I don't like dirty cops even when they're helping me."

"You don't have to like me. Just tell me where and when."

"When's whenever you're ready. Where is under a mailbox on 319 Ohio Street. White, unmarked envelope with an address, room number, and key card in it. Just be careful whenever you get to that hotel. Last time I was there, an entire SWAT team got taken out by one of those... Things..."

"Yeah, but what about house cleaning? Those maids would get their hands on it."

"Paid them off. Just get there and keep everyone off our backs."

"I'll make sure the Connor case goes cold."

"Yeah, whatever gets you your H."

"Ellison, I got a problem. Don't judge me."

"Whatever. Get there, get the cash, your fix, and keep the suits and blues off of us."

"Yeah." Ellison placed the phone back on the receiver and began sifting through reports. His phone rang and he absentmindedly answered it. "Ellison."

"Hello, Mister Ellison." The voice was John Henry's.

"Uh, hey, boss." He sat up and listened intently.

"I've been monitoring the calls. I heard that."

"Haven't you always known what we do?"

"Yes, but please use your personal phone to do it. If I weren't erasing all traces, they could track this back to Zeira Corp."

"Yeah, sure."

"Thank you." A simple click and a dial tone resounded after that, so Ellison placed the phone back where it was. He looked out the window in front of him and bore witness to the graying sky. It was likely going to rain today, but he just went back to his reports, thinking nothing of it.

Sarah and Cameron were in the living room at noon, awaiting Geller, who was off looking for another target, someone or some company that may have backup files of all of Wilson's work. Sarah couldn't find any outside of CRS that Eric or Kaliba really trusted. There were manufacturing companies, but nothing outside of that.

What was more important was any work on the chips rather than the endoskeletons. It was likely that Kaliba already had the 250,000 endos, but no chips to work it. Their information hotline would soon grow cold, though, because as of her last conversation with him, Sarah had learned that Eric was quitting CRS and getting a small apartment in Hollywood.

John was just getting up at a few minutes after noon, stumbling into the living room and essentially falling onto the couch beside of Cameron, taking her hand when he was comfortable. As soon as he was, his phone rang, which he pulled from his pocket and answered. "Yeah?"

"It's Ellison. John Henry has something for you to see."

They were now in the basement, being led to a laboratory by James. They stepped inside to see John Henry and some lab techs adjusting pieces on this arrangement of chrome red and silver plates of metal, with tubes, wires and various other mechanical pieces shaped vaguely like a human.

John Henry made one final adjustment to a piece and turned around to face John. "Hello. This is the TARPE. Tactical Assault and Recon Powered Exoskeleton, Mark III."

"TARPE? This is Perfect Metal..."

"Yes, our latest development. I've called you here for a test."

John chuckled. "You want me to... Use it?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"No... How do I... ?"

Sarah butted in, "Wait, what are you talking about, a test?"

"I've detected a temporal incursion. A machine. I've been tracking it, and I figured it would be a good way to test the TARPE, Mark III."

"How do we know it's the enemy?"

"We don't. This is something about which John must inquire."

John nodded. "So, what do I do?"

One of the technicians pulled open a large panel on the wall and there was a dark suit hanging there, with a circuit texture pattern barely detectable. "This is a bio-suit. It serves two purposes. It can detect your bio-signs and nerve impulses, allowing it to sense your intended movements and your vitals, while it also provides an anti-chafing surface against the metal. It's skin tight, so you'll have to go somewhere to put it on."

John nodded and left for the bathroom of this level, quickly coming back with the bio-suit. He walked over to the powered exoskeleton, guided by the technicians. They turned him around and instructed him to insert his hands into the metal, mechanical gloves. "Now what?"

"To initiate the activation sequence, rotate your fists outward and bring them toward your chest." John did so, and as soon as he began to move his arms inward, lights came on, parts began moving, and the plates began locking together rapidly and quickly, all over his body until finally the the helmet and mask slid over his head and face.

For a few seconds, there was darkness until a bright light shot into his eyes, beaming the image and HUD directly into his optic nerve. He felt as if there were no mask, until a voice came through and new symbols on the HUD began popping up, minimizing into the lower corners. "Hello, user, begin registration sequence."

"John Henry?"

"No, I am TARPE OS Mark Three. Name?"

"John Connor."

"Creating vitals pattern, converting into health percentage bar." Suddenly, there was a wireframe depiction of his body, as if it were a hologram floating in front of him, and it began filing away in the lower left hand corner, one layer at a time. First the skin, then the muscles, then the circulatory and nervous systems before the skeleton and organs. A bar on the upper center appeared, with a number to the side indicating "VITAL SIGNS – 100%"

It then began to do the same thing for the suit's integrity, overlaying his vitals bar in a different color and changing the words to "TOTAL – 100%."

"Now what?"

"A sequence of movement instructions will appear to form a perfect baseline for your movement patterns. Please follow them precisely in order to avoid bodily harm."

And so with every wireframe depiction of a specific movement, he followed it as exactly as possible before the suit finally indicated that the registration was complete.

John turned toward John Henry and watched as the targeting reticule moved over him, creating another wireframe model which filed away, layer by layer. There was also a complete radiation scan performed, the results of which filed away as most things did.

John spoke, which was exported through an advanced speaker mimicking the Terminators' method of talking, "Where do I go?"

"I'll download the data to the TARPE OS." After he'd performed that, the system compiled it all and created a serious of destination markers, both at the compass on the bottom of his field of vision and on the main field.

Somehow, the suit read exactly what he was thinking and displayed the closest possible address position to John's target.

He began moving the suit out of the building, and noticed that it moved as quickly and effortlessly as if he were floating. Suddenly, there was a schematic of a layer of the suit which indicated that he was partially suspended from the armor in order to minimize shock to his body when attacked.

"OS, how is it that you can predict what I would normally ask you?"

"The helmet surface," There was now a schematic. "Contains multiple neural sensors that can detect intent, not exact thought. It allows me to assist in regulation of the combat package, by locking onto your designated target, and also bringing up tactical data whenever desired, among other things."

John continued moving, leaving the building and arriving onto the street. "It will take me a while to get there..."

"Follow this path." There were now markers all around, connected, that were blue, indicating a direction. John noticed that the first one was on top of a building.

"How do I get there?"

"Jump. The suit has a maximum jump altitude of 15 meters, at a rate of 6 meters of ascent per second." There was now an arcing height diagram connecting his position to the next marker. The height of the building was 14.5 meters.

John began crouching down, and the suit began to calculate the necessary power. He thrust his entire body weight toward the marker, easily landing on top of the building. As he passed through the marker, it was deleted. John looked at the roof, noticing cracks. "Hey, how much does this thing weigh?"

"242 kilograms, or 533 point 519 pounds."

"Alright, probable distance to target?"

"2 point 52 kilometers." There was now a GPS display of the probable location of the machine.

John looked left to find his next marker. It was on top of a nearby building. John continued following the path until he was only around 10 meters from the proposed location. It was a hotel, which stored its records electronically. Because of this, the suit's systems were able to hack into it and pull up the list of tenants.

It initiated a facial comparison with images previously taken of the machine which had arrived in this time, indicating the room number. 1-02.

John nodded and fell down off of the roof, narrowly avoiding the pool, and began walking toward number 1-02. Without knocking or hesitating, he shoved his palm into the flimsy steel "security" door, which bent up in the middle as it flew against the back wall, bouncing off and landing on the bed.

The suit's advanced audio sensors detected a presence in the bathroom, and it began a multispectral scan. John could see the interior skeleton of a human, cowering inside. John walked over to the door, using the strength of the suit to rip off the door and throw it aside.

Inside was the man known as Agent Charleston, which John didn't know until the suit did a facial comparison and brought up his FBI credentials. Detecting his intentions again, the suit broke the seal on the mask of the helmet, which slid up and back, revealing John's face to the Federal Agent.

"What are you doing here, Agent Charleston? This room isn't registered to you."

"Off-official FBI business, s-s-son." He was shivering as he flashed his badge, and little did he know that prior to opening the mask, John's suit had initiated an isotope scan of the Agent, attempting to detect a nuclear power source or any other machine signs but inadvertently detecting the Heroin in his right pocket.

Barely more than a whisper to the Agent, the suit's notification of this to John could be heard loud and clear by the latter. "Isotopic scan indicated illegal substances in his pocket. My analysis indicates that it's Heroin. There also appear to be needle track marks, very fresh, in his dermal layer, and he exhibits all of the signs of a Heroin high."

"You've been doing Heroin here, haven't you?"

"How would you know that? Did Ellison tip you off?"

"No, and I'm not here for that. I'm here for the actual tenant of this room."

The suit detected the sound of an engine in the parking lot. Immediately, upon John's mental signal, it lowered the mask once again. The HUD quickly started up, and John scanned through the wall. Continual scans indicated the person approaching was actually a machine.

He turned toward the Agent, who was still cowering. "Stay here, don't make a whisper. John Henry, display weapons systems."

"I am TARPE OS-"

"No time for semantics. I'm going to call you John Henry." It was silent and then obeyed his previous order.

"This suit has the basic load-out. Two shoulder mounted Kinetic Rail Cannons, firing .45 caliber explosive slugs. Each side holds 75 slugs, totaling 150. Two forearm mounted micro-missile launchers, each having two missiles, therefore one reload each. In order to activate, raise your arm, with fists bent down in order to allow clearance of the missile. Mentally designate the target and continue to focus on it until hit."

John did so, awaiting for the machine to arrive in the doorway. Once it did, he designated the machine, causing the targeting cursor to focus on it, and the missile was away. It made contact, exploding and causing most of the doorway wall to turn into a gaping hole.

The machine had been blasted back to the poolside, with almost all of its skin and clothes burnt off or turned into a crisp which flaked off as the machine rose up, badly damaged.

Its right arm had been blown off, and its chest was badly dented. John rushed it, holding it down with all of the suit's weight and force. "What is your mission?"

It struggled over and over, unable to move even in the slightest. John looked into its two red eyes, attempting to convey to it somehow that struggling was futile. This suit was made to outclass even a machine in perfect condition.

It eventually resigned, starting up its speech synthesizers. "To terminate John Connor and other specific Resistance targets."

John was almost ecstatic. He could actually do something about them now, and so he tested this. He grabbed the shoulder joint of the machine's remaining arm, and just his grip crushed it enough to make it immobile. He pulled once, with 1/20th fluid pressure, causing a few bolts and parts to break off, yet the arm remained intact. He upped the pressure, to 1/10th, and with one good pull, ripped the arm off, throwing it aside. He stood up, bringing down his foot on the machine's midsection, crushing the servos and spinal column.

While keeping his foot down, he proceeded to pull away the entire lower body, sliding it behind him. He stood back to sadistically watch the machine move its shoulder blades and head, trying to do something. In order to add insult to injury, he instructed the face mask to move up again. "Look at me. I'm John Connor. Your mission is my termination."

It simply focused on him, its glitching HUD indicating that John was a priority target and that he was to be terminated, yet it could not accomplish its mission.

Even though he was obtaining pleasure from this, John began to remember that despite their different missions, this machine is exactly as Cameron is underneath her skin. She's only more compact, and it was then that he began to feel something like remorse, despite this machine's desire to kill him.

He wanted to end it all right now. But he realized that he had no Thermite, no flare with which to light it. How would he destroy this endoskeleton?

Sensing John's intentions, the mask slid back on and indicated, through diagrams yet no audio that the left arm had a repository of Thermite, enough to cover one endoskeleton, and the right arm had a removable flare.

Apparently, John Henry and his team had foreseen most issues when designing the suit. So John began collecting all of the parts, bringing them over to an empty dumpster he'd found. The machine was still active, still struggling, so before placing its torso into the can, he placed it on the ground, sighing before stomping hard onto its head. Most of it flattened, and parts broke off, but it was definitely offline now. John collected every last piece, every last scrap, which the TARPE OS had tracked for him to make it easier, and dumped it in with the rest into the can.

He held his arm over it, allowing the Thermite to slowly sift out as he moved back and forth down the length of the dumpster. After that was done, he opened the port on the other arm and pulled out the flare, lighting it.

He watched as the metal melted into a husk, and then into vapor. He activated the mobile phone application service, or MPAS as it was called and sent a text message to everyone's phone. It was time to get back to Cameron, he'd realized, after all that had happened.

*Okay, so here's this chapter. I was really eager to get to have John test the suits. The last one we saw was just a Mark I. That's the one which Geller was in. It's a very primitive version with limited systems and power, not to mention limited protection. The Mark I was also the one Derek was in the process of constructing in the shed, and the ones the Resistance, with their limited resources in the future war, were building. Derek was given details, although we never hear about this, on what Perfect Metal was or is, and was sent back to get into contact with Zeira Corp., although he obviously didn't know about them, to fund more advanced versions of the suit that would be more useful.

And I want you to tell me something in reviews. Do you think it would be a little too much to add these:

An electromagnetic barrier on the suit. Not really a force field, but it would generate an EM field that would slow down incoming bullets to nearly a halt. I got this idea from reading about something that happened in a Tape factory (tape as in Scotch Tape, not recording Tape) where three rollers of plastic film created so much static that they actually made it impossible to move through the inspection corridor under the rollers. Or would this be too advanced? Tell me what you think. Also, because it mostly reflects bullets, you can't fire from inside the field, either. Also, the wearer of the suit has to raise their hand up at all times to have it active, so it can't be used in a fist fight with a Terminator, either. Please say if you think it's too advanced or not.

Ablative Armor emitters, using Poly-mimetic (T-1000 material) alloy. Several emitters attached around the suit that cover it with this alloy, which then hardens and adds protection. Either this or some kind of quick drying ceramic.

A portable Poly-mimetic alloy suit. It's basically something that looks like one of those touch night lamp things that you can put on any wall, except with more lights and doodads. Anyway, when you put it up to your chest and activate it, Poly-mimetic alloy covers you and becomes a suit. Most of the limitations are: no guns or missiles, just stabbing weapons, and not much in terms of strength upgrades. It's just something to have if you need protection and can't get to your TARPE Mk III or something.

Tell me what you think. Thanks!


	26. Episode 214 Thirteen Terabytes

Episode 214 – Thirteen Terabytes

John was now back in the Zeira building labs, stepping out of the TARPE and collecting his clothes so that he could change out of the bio-suit. He stared at Cameron, remembering everything he'd felt before turning to watch technicians go over the suit and begin plugging in a data cable at a port in the back armor.

Finally changed, John walked back over to the metal frame of the suit, so caught up in it that he was surprised when he heard John Henry. "You were able to generate thirteen Terabytes of combat data, including audio/visual records. We can use this to assess the prototype Mark III's potential."

He'd nearly chuckled at the irony. He'd felt so many emotions, yet it was only thirteen Terabytes to them. "Since I'm already registered, I guess this one's mine, huh?"

"Yes, that will be an honor we'll bestow upon you. We're preparing several new modular load-outs which you can try in further trials."

"What kind?"

"We've experimented with creating an automated folding and unfolding system of a .50 caliber rifle with explosive shells that can swivel and become a powerful shoulder mounted weapon. Once empty, it can be dumped as a pack and forgotten about. There is a similar system being prepared for a Javelin missile launcher."

"One of those micro-missile launchers packed a huge punch."

"We're creating a forearm mounted array which is going to expand the number of missiles you can carry and launch."

"Good. We'll need this, in the future."

"Then you're convinced we can't stop it?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Do we have any targets at all?"

"I've been tracking data on CRS, and they've lost the contract and have moved onto what they think are bigger and better things. They're now focusing on cybernetic integration with the human body."

"It could still be a threat."

"Unlikely. They have little to no research on the subject. It's doubtful they'll invent anything of use before Judgment Day. Though, they have enlisted the help of an LA Prison Inmate to assist in their trials of cybernetic implants in the human body. He really has no choice in the matter, facing the death sentence. His name is Marcus Wright, and I suggest you talk to him sometime, try to get some sense of how far CRS has advanced their research in this area."

"Anything else?"

"I've discovered a company named the Massive Technological Corporation. They've created a useful fusion reactor, and have discovered that it's easy to miniaturize it. I've also been able to uncover limited files on their development of combat drones, using a Quantum Processor known as a Blue Box. It functions similarly to a QCP, only it's a large cube, similar to a desktop computer tower."

"Will it become Skynet?"

"I don't know."

"Okay, then how would we go about this?"

Cameron was now examining the suit herself, when it donned on her. "Use this. Again. Break in. We have to be aggressive, John."

Sarah shook her head in disagreement. "No, now's not the time. The risk of loss is too high. You could kill innocent people."

One of the techs began to remove the arm unit of the machine in order to reload the missile and replace a malfunctioning servo, and he gave Sarah an idea while he worked on it. "I can begin equipping non-lethal weaponry. In this arm, we can replace the missile launcher with a TASER device. The Fluid and Pneumatic levels can be adjusted by the suit AI for non-lethality."

John Henry nodded slightly and a wireframe hologram appeared over a central table in the large lab. "This is a layout of their building. Cameron can enter here," A red circle marker appeared near the lobby entrance. "And cause a distraction while John enters through the back alleyway in order to make it to their labs. You must wait for the alarms to go off beforehand, so guard attention will be diverted."

"Wait, why assault the place? How do we know they're doing what we don't want them to?"

Sarah grunted slightly. "John, that Blue Box thing, it can power Skynet. It can be Skynet. We have to stomp it out."

"Wait, does this place give tours? Some tech companies give tours."

John Henry nodded and caused a date and time display, the tour schedule, to appear over the building. "Tomorrow, from noon to 5 PM..."

"Okay, we can tour the place, get a handle on the situation, their tech, and we can form a plan for assault or infiltration after that, based on what we learn. Cameron, you go in. Try to take restroom breaks often or otherwise be alone so you can feed us intel via an ear wig." Sarah pulled one out of her purse and showed it to her. "Fresh batteries."

John Henry changed the hologram to a wireframe of one of their vans. "This is equipped with a technological espionage and electronic countermeasures suite, along with bullet resistant ablative armor. Disguised as cable TV installation van, we can remain relatively unnoticed."

John pressed a holographic key which caused the entire display to close and began heading toward the door. "We need to rest up. Come on."

John stood beside Cameron as they waited for the elevator. Sarah lingered a few feet down the hall. "Were you lying to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You kept the endo parts, before. Do you remember?"

"I remember everything."

"Good. You wouldn't tell me why. You just told me that I told you to do so, in the future."

"Yes."

He sighed and paused for a second to think. "Was this why? To make these suits?"

"I don't know."

"You... Don't know?"

"You didn't tell me. I think Derek was supposed to know."

"But don't I trust you more than him?"

"I don't know." There was a ding as the elevator doors slid open, and they all entered it.

At home, John stood in the kitchen, piling ham, cheese, ham, and then more cheese on to bread before sliding it in the microwave above the stove. Sarah entered right as he closed it. "Hey, what are you eating?"

"Oh, ham and cheese sandwich."

"Don't want any real dinner?"

"Nah, this is okay."

"What was that about, earlier? In front of the elevator?"

He chuckled and ran his hand through his hair as the microwave beeped. He didn't open it yet, but turned toward Sarah. "Nothing."

"Nothing? John, it wasn't nothing..."

"No, it was nothing."

"Do you love her?" He was silent. "John, I need to know if you..."

"Yes, mom. I do."

"But does she love you? Can she?"

"I do." Sarah turned around to see Cameron standing at the kitchen entrance. "I can. John, you need a carbohydrate that makes up at least fifteen percent of your daily allowance. I can make you something."

Sarah chuckled and John looked at her awkwardly. "What's funny?"

"Nothing. I heard that in a dream, once."

"Weird thing to hear in a dream."

"Weird dream."

"Yeah, I bet."

"Come on. Let's go eat. I know a nice place."

"Mom, it's fine." He began to grab the sandwich, but she took the plate and dumped its contents into the trash can.

"You need good food."

"Okay. If you're buying."

"No, someone else is."

"Who?"

"You'll see."

They'd arrived at a diner, one John wouldn't know but one Sarah remembers, the one at which she'd worked before she met Kyle, all of those years ago.

Inside, they saw Eric Wilson at a table and sat down with him as he waved them over.

Eric laid a folder down on the table and John sighed. "Mom, Skynet stuff now? Why?"

"John. Skynet's always there. So we're always working."

John slid in beside Cameron opposite of Eric and Sarah, as John began checking out the file. "What is this? Group intelligence? It doesn't sound anything like Skynet."

Cameron corrected him. "That's how Skynet works. The more drones it produces, the smarter and more powerful it is. Skynet and the drones share processing power, at least before the T-800 series."

"What does this mean?"

"Six T-600s grouped together are smarter than one. The optimal number for human level intelligence is 157. The connection to each other only works over a few kilometers. The connection to Skynet is nearly worldwide through use of GPS Satellites."

"Wait, it sounds like you're saying Skynet can't even function without drones?"

"Barely."

"So, is that why the metal in the warehouse was stockpiling the endos?"

"I don't know. It's possible."

Sarah scratched her head as she looked at the menu. "Great, more tech stuff I don't know."

The waitress walked up beside Sarah. "Is everyone ready to order."

Sarah nodded. "I am. Don't know about them."

The young woman brought her pen up to a notepad. "What would you like?"

"Number 6, with fries."

"And to drink?"

"Water."

"Okay. I'll be right back with your order, and when you guys are ready, just let me know."

Sarah nodded as the woman walked away. "Nice. Reminds me of me."

Eric put his hand on Sarah's shoulder gently. "I need to go to the bathroom."

"I'll let you out."

He strode off to the restroom and left the other three alone. John looked at Cameron as something came to mind. "Where's Geller?"

"I'm not sure. He had a lead."

Suddenly, John's phone rang and the caller ID said that it was Geller. "Hey, Geller?"

"I'm chasing a Trip Eight. Where are you?"

"In my mom's old diner."

"Hamburger guy out front?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Metal's coming your way. Stay low."

Outside, a machine using the 101 skin template strode toward the diner, scanning through his sunglasses and into the walls, getting a thermal map of the area. He could see the heat outline of every one inside and was prepared. An indicator locked onto the signal of John's phone, as he was still on the line.

Suddenly, the door went flying across the room, its glass shattering and several waitresses dropped over, dead. John ducked down under the table of the booth and Cameron confronted the machine.

"John Connor is here." Its thick accent filled the air and it pointed its handgun at Cameron. "Where?"

She didn't say anything and instead took the rest of the machine's magazine into her chest as she dived at him, pinning him to the ground. Quickly, John and Sarah headed off to the kitchen, which she was sure had an emergency exit. They'd almost gotten to it when Cameron was sent flying through the wall, barely avoiding the hot stove surface.

She rose up, blocking the machine from chasing after John and Sarah as they shoved open the emergency door, triggering the loud alarm.

They ran for the vehicle and piled in, driving off. "Mom! Cameron?"

"Leave her."

"What, mom? No, we have to go back!" He saw her turn down a street and was confused. "Where are you going?"

"Zeira... We have to save Cameron, John. You get in that thing and help her!"

He dialed John Henry's number. "I need the suit ready. Quick!"

By the time they'd arrived and were in the basement, the suit was prepared and the inner bio-suit lain out, ready for John to put it on. He rushed into the bathroom, quickly coming out and placing himself inside of the machine, activating it as he pulled his fists in.

Once the mask was on, he forced it to dash to the stairs and was quickly outside.

Though, by the time he'd arrived at the diner once again, the battle was just wrapping up. In the parking lot, the 101 was being stabbed through the chest by... A machine posing as a female Naval Commander.

Eric stared at her in awe. "Commander Larson?"

The suit's systems scanned her in great detail, providing a quick tactical assessment. After the body of the machine dropped, the Commander took on a silver sheen, changing shape and color, becoming Catherine Weaver.

John shook his head as his words came through the suit's speakers. "But you're vapor. I watched you get blasted away!"

She smirked and looked at Cameron, who was just now rising off of the ground. Sarah had no reaction, as she hadn't seen what they saw that day. "Wait, you were dead?"

"No, Ms. Connor. They thought I was."

John pointed at her and activated the missile systems. "I want answers, now."

"I did it for John Henry. I thought he was ready for my job, so I resigned."

"You call being blown apart resigning? How did you survive?"

"I set the bomb on a timer and hid it before the machine arrived. I gave it a fight enough to knock it out for one hundred and twenty seconds and then escaped into a tunnel network underneath the building. I believe it will be a Resistance hideout in the future."

John lowered his arm, deactivating the missile system. "That's good enough."

"I see the suits are a success."

"They work just fine. We need to get back to the lab. I'm sure John Henry and Ellison will want to know you've survived."

It was now later in the day, as the sun had already begun to set when they arrived back at the lab. The technicians were removing John from the suit and downloading the small amount of data it had accrued as he left to get dressed.

When John walked back into the room, Weaver was examining a holographic display which showed their plans for the next day. "There is no need for this."

"Why?"

"I've been there. Acting as a military officer, the form you saw me in earlier."

"And?"

"It would be a waste of time to investigate them any further."

"But now we're out of leads."

"Maybe. Maybe now all we can do is wait."

"For it? For Judgment Day?" He picked up a piece of the suit which was on the table and absentmindedly fiddled around with it. "I won't accept that. I can't. There has to be something we can do. Some way to prepare better."

"We're working on a special contingency plan. I hope we won't have to use it."

"What is it?"

"No one can know. Not even you. It would jeopardize the entire operation."

"Are you planning something big? Because if you are, I need to know."

"You think we can plan something bigger than Perfect Metal? You have an abundance of confidence in my company, Mr. Connor."

"Not your company. John Henry's. You resigned, remember?"

"True. May I assume that you remember the destruction of Skynet Central?"

"Yeah. Vividly."

"Do you remember anything specific about that place?"

"No one was there."

"And why do you think that is?"

"Are you saying it was automated? By Skynet?"

"That is precisely what I'm saying."

"But why was there a break room? There was food, everything."

"It's possible Skynet had infiltration units stationed there, and they would need to keep up appearances in the event of a human visitor."

"Well that makes sense. But I blew the place, so what does it matter now?"

"Everything, Mr. Connor. Everything."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see, in time." She grabbed the piece from his hands and sat it back down on the table. "Go home. We'll inform you of anything you need to know."

"I need to know it all."

"And you will."

John simply nodded and stepped out of the room, finding Sarah and Cameron in the hall. He grabbed Cameron's hand as they headed to the elevator.

They needed to be prepared, and the first step was to find rest.


	27. Episode 215 The Rhode Island Incident

Episode 215 - The Rhode Island Incident

It was 0230 hours on board the Rhode Island, the United States Navy's newest nuclear attack submarine, and it was approximately 14 hours off the coast of LA at top speed, deep under the ocean and running scans of the area. The Quartermaster of the Watch was going around the command center, examining the officers' work at their stations.

His name tag and rank insignia indicated him to be Lieutenant Commander Holland and he was watching the Sonar Operator at his station when the officer called out, "Grid 291 clear."

Commander Holland looked at the Navigation area and called out his command, "Move to Grid 290."

To confirm his order, the navigation officer called out, which the Planesman inputted into the controls. "Moving to Grid 290."

"Sir?" It was the Sonar Operator. "We have a problem."

"What is it?"

"My Sonar's going out."

"What?" He walked over to the station. "Move over."

Commander Holland's tapping on the keys wasn't helping and the system didn't reboot until a few seconds after he'd stopped. The Sonar Operator pulled out a tablet from his pocket and brought up the digital manual of the system. Just as he'd thought, he was doing everything right, and it shouldn't have acted as it did.

"Was it some kind of interference?"

"I don't know, sir."

"Well, it's nothing to wake the Skipper over. Carry on, Ensign."

"Yes, sir." The Sonar Operator wiped his brow and looked over to the officer stationed beside him. "Does it seem a little hot to you?"

The officer tapped some keys and brought up a display. "Temperature readout says 72 degrees. It must be out of whack."

"I thought this sub was supposed to be new."

Commander Holland looked angrily at the two officers. "Back to work, you two!"

"Yes sir." The Sonar Operator kept scanning and logging everything on the screen, not wanting to be chewed out.

Commander Holland stood in the center of the room, looking over all of the officers and making sure they were doing their jobs right. Suddenly, there was a loud bang and all of the lights and computer consoles turned off. In around three seconds after that, emergency battery powered lights came to life, illuminating the room only half as well as the primary light sources.

"What the hell? Someone get the computers back online!"

A crewman checked over a junction box at the aft end of the room, flipping switches but to no avail. "It's not a problem with this junction."

Another crewman had his hand over what looked like a vent, shaking his head. "Life support's out. That means we got five, maybe six hours left of breathable air."

The Commander checked his watch and then tapped the Sonar Operator on the soldier. "Take three men, check all of this deck's junction boxes, and move down the ship until you find the source of the failure."

"Aye, aye, sir."

An expression of apprehension and a small amount of anger or frustration was evident in the officer's face as he wiped sweat off of his brow.

At approximately the same time, at the Connor residence, Cameron was strolling through the house, making sure everyone was safe. She noticed some noises and increase of light in the kitchen, and proceeded to check it out.

Once there, she found that it was only John making a ham and cheese sandwich. He saw her and smiled. "Hey."

"You should be more careful."

"I know. I was hungry."

"Have you even been asleep tonight?"

"No. I just haven't felt like it. I don't know what to do."

"Lay in your bed and close your eyes. Isn't that how it works?"

"That's not what I meant." He slid the sandwich into the microwave and set the machine for fifty seconds. "I mean we don't have any leads, we don't know who to fight now."

"Skynet."

"Well, that's not what I meant, either."

"I know." Suddenly, the microwave oven beeped, but John simply ignored it. However, Cameron opened it and took the plate with the sandwich out. "You need to know something."

"About what?"

"Me. Here." She handed him the plate and he began to eat. "Whenever I think of you, see you, or hear you, my program orders me to terminate you. I ignore it."

"And it's saying that right now?"

"Yes." Her HUD was targeting John's face and displaying a message, commanding her to terminate him. "I won't listen. I promise."

"I believe you." He was done with the sandwich, so he dumped the plate in the sink before embracing Cameron. "I believe you. I promise."

"I know." She pushed him away gently. "You need to sleep."

It was now 0307 hours aboard the Rhode Island, and the crew was still in a frenzy as they attempted to restart the power. The Sonar Operator and the men he'd taken with him to check the junctions was just now returning to the command center and Commander Holland. "Sir, all junctions are out. That must mean the primary reactors are offline."

"And the containment systems along with them?" The young officer nodded. "Well that means we're receiving quite a large dose of rads right now. Get to the sickbay and find some anti-radiation meds. We'll ration them out."

"Yes, sir." But before he could move, the lights and computers suddenly kicked back on, and once the operating systems had started up, the officers took their stations.

"Conn, how far did we drift?"

"That's the strange thing, sir. My instruments say we've been stationary this entire time."

"No way. Half an hour with no navigation control and we're stationary? Something odd is happening here."

"What if it was that weird Blue Box thing they got in the server room?"

Holland shook his head and picked up a phone handset, dialing into a certain number. "Captain, you'd better get up here. We've been having some problems, sir." Once he was done with the phone, he looked at two crewmen at the port side of the room. "You two, get down to the server room and unplug that damn thing. The Lieutenant's probably right about it being the source of all this."

They saluted and began to move. The room was only around three meters down the corridor, and once inside they found the device for which they'd been sent down there. It was directly connected to the network and handling a lot of the higher functioning, so they were unsure about unplugging it.

Suddenly, the hatch opened and another crewman stepped in. "You're not supposed to be in here."

One of the crewmen cleared his throat. "The Quartermaster sent us to unplug this thing. Says it's probably the source of the blackout."

"No. I don't think you will be disconnecting it." Suddenly, he moved over to both of them, swung his arms and caused them to slam their heads into the overhead railing before falling, dead from cranial trauma. Remorseless and cold, the crewman stepped out of the room and headed back down the corridor with a report in hand, ready to be delivered.

Back in the command center, he walked up to the Commander, handing him the device with the data on it, silent and patient. "This is your report?"

"Yes, sir."

"Did you happen to stop by the server room on the way up here?"

"No, sir."

"Damn, where the hell are they?"

"Sir?"

"I sent two men down there to unplug that thing. I think it's causing trouble for us. Why in the hell did command even want that connected? Damn Skynet and Blue Boxes..."

"I think we should leave it connected. It kept us from drifting when the power went out."

"But it shouldn't have. The power was out."

"Maybe it has a backup source, sir."

"I doubt it. But, yeah, maybe. Or either it shunted all ship power to itself for some reason. There's no way to know."

"No, there isn't." Commander Holland noticed that something was oddly off about this crew member. "Is something wrong, sir?"

"Yeah, just who in the hell are you? I'm the XO of this boat, that means I handle personnel matters and transfers, but I don't recognize you. What's your name?"

"Petty Officer Gordon, sir."

"Well, Gordon. I know I don't know you. You're not supposed to be here, are you?"

"Yes."

"What?"

"Yes. I'm supposed to be here."

"No. I'll get a dive team ready, have the Radioman signal another ship to pick you up, take you to port. If we can even contact anyone out here."

"That wouldn't be wise, sir."

"Oh, and why not?" By now, the entire watch crew was staring at the two, as Holland's rage had made him quite loud. "Look, I don't know how you got here, but I'm going to find out."

"I don't think you will."

"Radioman, try to find someone in the are-" Suddenly, Gordon slammed his arm into the side of the Commander's face, throwing him up against the Starboard bulkhead.

The machine looked at the officers and grinned. "Back to work."

It was now around eight AM, and Sarah was entering the kitchen to find Cameron on the computer. "Good morning. What are you looking at?"

"A problem."

"Problem?"

"Yes, there's a big problem. A Navy sub has gone missing, out of contact."

"And?"

"It was a test platform. For a Bluebox, with Skynet on it."

"What? You're joking?"

"No, not this time. It's happening already. Skynet is activating."

"Well, what does this mean, if it's got control of the sub?"

"The USS Rhode Island is a fleet ballistic missile submarine. It's got nukes on board." She'd risen from the chair after shutting off the computer. "Wake John, we need to find a fallout shelter."

"Now? No. It can't be happening now."

"Maybe, maybe not. But we have to hide." Cameron was gathering some things, but Sarah stopped her, holding her arms steady while she stared into her eyes. She could see a new feeling, a new depth there. Something akin to fear. "I can't risk losing him. I have to save John."

"What are the chances of the system hacking the weapons?"

"The Rhode Island is the first of a new class, its computers have a hardline network linking them all together. It can break through the firewalls easily. I think now it only has navigation control."

"How many missiles are we talking here?"

"At least 24 Trident Ballistic Missiles, each containing several nuclear Multiple Independently-targetable Re-entry Vehicles, or MIRVs."

"Are you sure they armed it? Isn't this just a shakedown run?"

"The website didn't specify."

"Then we don't know. Calm down. Think."

"John Henry could find out."

"How?"

"In order to target the missiles, it needs to connect to the GPS satellite network. John Henry could trace back through the connection and hack the armory manifests."

"Road trip."

"Do we wake John?"

"No, let him rest." She'd grabbed the keys off of a table by the door and began heading out, with Cameron close behind.

Now they were at Zeira Corp, and Cameron was looking at a blue holographic wireframe of the Earth, with a reticule scanning for the Rhode Island. John Henry was blankly staring into space as he searched for the ship. Eventually, the cursor turned from white to red as it locked onto the ship's position. "I've found it."

Sarah touched the cursor, and it then showed a local view of the area, which was all ocean. "So, can you hack it, figure out if they've got nukes on board?"

"Yes, but getting through the firewalls may take some time. I'll display a progress indicator." And so he did, as above the ocean, a window of twenty or so progress bars appeared, with the first one slowly filling up.

Back on the submarine, at its depth of 360 feet underwater, the officers of the command center were trying to shake off what had just happened, but it was difficult. The machine simply stood there, holding a gun out, ready to shoot anyone who made even the slightest attempt to be a hero.

It looked over at the port side and walked over to a crewman there. "Throttleman, go to 10 knots and hold that speed. Planesman, keep us level and bring us to bearing zero one eight mark nineteen. Hold this for thirteen kilometers, and then all stop."

Without making a sound, both crewmen adjusted their controls accordingly, afraid of what this, as they perceived him, psychopathic man may do. Once they were finally there, the Navigator called it out. "We are at your coordinates."

Gordon smirked and aimed his weapon at the Planesman first. "Thank you for your service." He shot the man in the back of the head and then turned his weapon to the Throttleman, killing him as well.

*This is a John Connor monologue, meant to resonate during the scenes described in between the dialogue. Sorry for disrupting the flow with this explanation. It didn't want there to be any confusion*

"Sun Tzu once said that the clever combatant imposes his will upon the enemy," Gordon then turned his weapon upon the Navigator, allowing a bullet to fly out and kill the man. Suddenly, many of the crewmen arose, pulling out handguns and firing them at Gordon, with no effect. "But never allows the enemy to impose its will upon him. Machines can be programmed, new wills can be imposed in an instant. This is the difference between us and them. We are unique, our wills are unique, and change only when we want change to happen. We cannot be reprogrammed, our codes cannot be rewritten. In this way, we can never be more different from them."

Gordon looked around the room, staring at all of the crewmen who were dead. All but one, who was struggling to reload his gun as his hands shook. He got the magazine in, and emptied the entire clip into the machine's face, only damaging skin and nothing else.

The machine grabbed the man's neck, lifting him up into the air as the man dropped his handgun, now totally defenseless as Gordon snapped his neck like a toothpick. He stared upon the man's dead body, unmoved by the sight as he turned and headed into a corridor, killing more crewmen who aimed their guns at him by simply punching them or slamming them into bulkheads.

They were unable to deter him as he moved back into the computer room and locked the door.

His face went blank as he shut himself down. He knew what was about to happen. Skynet, in the Bluebox, was going to shut down the life support systems and suffocate the entire crew. His mission was complete.

Back in the lab within the Zeira Corporation building, John Henry had finally bypassed all of the firewalls and was now accessing the armory manifests. Nowhere depicted on the list were any nuclear missiles of any kind, which he pointed out. "The ship is armed with conventional torpedoes only."

Cameron suddenly had a more relaxed look on her face as she turned to face Sarah. "We're safe, for another day at least. It's already past April 21st. It's the 28th. Maybe we're safe."

Sarah nodded. "Yeah. Maybe."

*So, this one is one that I've had in my head for quite a while. What did you think? A tad shorter than I thought it would be when I was thinking it up.


	28. Episode 216 A Shot Below the Belt

Episode 216 – A Shot Below The Belt

"John?" Geller was in the back of their SUV, beside Sarah. Cameron was in the front, her hand clasped with John's as he looked over their new phones. All of them iPhones which Cameron bought because of their ability to delete all data after too many failed attempts to hack the code.

"Hmm?" He was fiddling with some tools that extensively used the touch screen, a technology John seemed to enjoy.

"You have any thoughts on assassins? And I don't mean metal. Are they people?"

"Yeah, I mean obviously they are." He chuckled nervously and ran his thumb over Cameron's hand. "Even metal's people."

At that moment John looked over to see Cameron smile.

"I was told an assassin is nothing more than a tool for the person who uses it."

"Well, no matter what, a person is a person. They're not defined by profession. Whoever told you that's crazy."

"Yeah... Maybe a bit." His memory trailed off, bringing him to the future year of 2027. He was standing in front of Jesse Flores, who had a visible look of anger on her face.

"Jesus, Gel, how the hell did you bungle that one up? Simple job. Kill that metal bitch. One scrap pile of metal and you couldn't handle it even at platoon strength, in an ambush?"

"Yeah, what are you gonna do, huh? You're Navy, I'm Marine Corps. I fucked up. It happens. Thing was quick and strong, ma'am. Good thing she doesn't know who it was, or John would know, too. She probably assumes it was some Identify Friend/Foe error, some challenge muddle up, or something. We won't be associated with what happened."

"You'd better damn well hope not or she won't wait for Connor to give you a Court-Martial. You'll be dead before he even knows you were the one."

"Does the JAG Corps even exist anymore?"

"Damn right it does. I've seen plenty of Sailors and Marines tried lately. Connor believes keeping law and order is important, even with the shitty state of things. But right now, I'm you're biggest threat. You're a good devil dog, good metal scrapper. But this is unacceptable." She heard a tinny sound and scanned the rack room worriedly, but there was no one around. "New mission. We kill Connor. He's too unreliable."

"And too well-guarded, not to mention I have zero plans on betraying him."

"I don't mean do it now. You know my Company, the one I don't let Connor know about? The really good one?"

"Sigma Company."

"Yeah. We've got a bubble machine. Techs got it up and running. Go back, use Perfect Metal. You know where the warehouse is. Use one of the more advanced suits to take the bitch out, then go for John."

"What? That's crazy. You're insane."

She punched him in the face, as hard as she could and landed a blow on his mouth which lacerated her knuckles. "Hey, listen to me! You are nothing but my an assassin, my fucking tool to be used when I say! Tools can be replaced, and don't think I won't find someone else to do it and dump your body somewhere to make it look like the machines did it! Because I can, and I fucking will."

"Bitch!" She pulled him close and kissed him while biting his lip as he slid his hand down her pants and she moaned. But, she threw him off and sent a knee flying into his stomach, and he doubled over.

She begun taking her clothes off as she walked over and Geller knew what she was about to do as she pried open her drawer and pulled the device out before shutting the curtains and blocking his view, leaving him only with her loud moans as he winced in pain when he tried to get up and leave the room.

He looked back and whispered silently, "Love you, crazy bitch."

He stepped out of his memories and looked at John, then Sarah who was looking at his pants and laughing. "Fond memory?"

He quickly crossed his legs, embarrassed. "Sorry."

"No worries, we're all human here." Geller obviously waited for her to correct herself and remove Cameron from the group, but it never came.

John was zooming around on the Maps app, trying to find something. "Cam, where'd you say the target was again?"

"Pico Boulevard.

"Got it. Let's go." John started the SUV and backed up, until he noticed the shape of a man standing directly behind them, which reached out and placed hands to stop the vehicle. It did so effortlessly, and Cameron stepped out to do battle with her foe. The other three reached for their guns and darted for various cover positions. Geller knew this was his chance. Pretend it was friendly fire, a simple mistake. He'd have to be careful. His current weapon was no more than a .45 ACP Hi-Point pistol.

His aim needed to be precise, just like the metal bitch's.

"_Just like Cameron._" He thought. He didn't notice the slip, didn't notice that he now began to see her as human, a person with rights.

ZEIRA CORPORATION, 0115 HOURS

Catherine Weaver walked into the basement of the building and saw John Henry was perusing the racks of computer equipment that had once housed his previously primitive and childlike intelligence. He turned around and tilted his head. "Miss Weaver. I've discovered something interesting. Even though they were mostly all destroyed by the rapid oxidation self destruct system, I've managed to salvage several files from the T-888 CPUs we've discovered. They're very resilient, even considering the thoroughness of the incineration."

"How did you find the time?"

"I wrote a program to do it and installed it on all of this equipment. It's why I've needed to keep so much power running down here. The quantum-state structure of the chips is very advanced, capable of storing and maintaining large amounts of data, and allowing some of it to resist damage since the data is stored in the processor's very quantum structure."

"Yes. I am aware of this. What is so important about the data?"

"Skynet was attempting to locate a large cache of reprogrammed machines in possession of the Resistance. Apparently this cache was mobile, but there were estimated to be 350 T-888 units, 155 T-800s and 100 AVL-350 aerial hunter units."

"And?"

"I have managed to deduce what Skynet has not. They were using an aircraft carrier. The USS Enterprise, CVN-65. However, I estimate a large section of the rooms would have needed conversion into a massive cold-storage vault because, otherwise, the flesh covering of T-800 units would decay. Such is not true of T-888s, however."

"Indeed. They are much more efficient. In many ways."

John Henry's face was suddenly different. "Security alert. There is a gunman in the lobby. He has Mr. Murch hostage, and Ellison is attempting to calm him. The man is human." He caused security footage to display on the screens surrounding them.

Weaver made the connection before John Henry does, "This is Doctor Silberman. He treated Sarah Connor when she was in the mental hospital. Bring up the audio."

John Henry did so, and the man's shaky voice, possessive of little courage, filled the room. "Where are the machines?! Where's Skynet?! I know it's here! Where?!" He passed his gun over the crowd of fearful employees, who all ducked when the gun was aimed at them. "Don't?! You?! Understand?! I have to stop it! For Sarah! Sarah Connor! She's alive! And John! I have to stop it!"

John Henry was analyzing the biometric data, "I estimate only a 3% chance he will harm anyone."

"Humans are too unpredictable. That 3% could become 100% if he plants one in one of my employees. I will personally terminate him if he does so. After a thorough interrogation."

"I've had electronic scales added to the floor plating during the repairs. It was originally designed to detect machines, as they would be slightly too heavy for their size. For example, Cameron should only weigh 50 kilograms yet she weighs 73."

"And?"

"Size is an important factor to determine how much sedatives a human being should be administered. If I factor in a likely amount of tolerance due to his time spent in Pescadero, I can distribute a safe amount through the ventilation of a specialized compound I've developed."

"Everyone else in the room?"

"Will be affected. But the dissolution due to the spread of the material will make the duration relatively short. Long enough to detain Silberman, however."

"Ellison has an earwig?"

"Yes."

"And have you been listening to everything we've said, James?" Weaver watched him slightly nod. "Blink twice if you really are listening."

He did so. John Henry discreetly made a wall panel slide up behind Ellison containing a gas mask. "James, please attempt to put that on. It will be up to you to take Silberman's gun and detain him. Don't worry that the others are rendered unconscious, the compound is safe."

James quickly grabbed the mask and put it on, and everyone collapsed as John Henry triggered the appropriate Daemons.

Ellison was finally able to speak, "Great timing, John Henry."

"I am grateful to be of assistance."

"Alright, don't coat the sugar on too much." Eventually, he was able to find three other guards who weren't within the range of the gas and they aided him in moving the unconscious people to safer positions and take Silberman to a temporary holding cell.

0230 HOURS

Ellison slammed Silberman's Glock 17 9mm on the table in the basement computer lab. John Henry sat across from Silberman, who was shackled to the chair. The slide was locked open and there was no magazine in the gun, making the sound slightly more hollow, which caused Silberman to bolt back to consciousness. "No ammo. Pretty old trick. You didn't want to hurt anyone, which is good to know."

His speech was slurred, and his vision blurred every time he moved his head to look around the room. "I'm not one of them."

John Henry looked to James, who nodded, and then he caused the shutters in his mechanical eyes to dilate, bathing the small area in front of them with a red light. Silberman began to struggle against his shackles while screaming loudly. After several seconds, he discontinued and sat still, never diverting his gaze from John Henry.

Ellison moved over beside him and stared right into his face before whispering, "Why are you here?"

"I heard there was one of them here, the silver demon, a shape shifting monster. I have to stop it."

Ellison flashed back to the conversation they had in Silberman's house several years ago, when the other man drugged, stabbed, and tried to burn him alive. "You have no right to come here and hold our employees at gunpoint."

"I did what I had to do. And I failed. So kill me. Go ahead, you know what's coming. I don't want to live through that."

"We're not killing you. You're going back to Pescadero." Ellison pulled out his cell phone and began dialing the number of the front desk, turning his back on Silberman.

0312 HOURS

Geller's shot barely missed John and he knew he couldn't try again. Cameron was busy fighting the machine, but John and Sarah dashed over to him and pointed their guns at him. Sarah was prepared to fire, but thought she'd give him a chance. "Why? What the hell are you trying to pull? You know she'll snap your neck in an instant!"

"It was an accident! I swear! I am not known for my aim!"

"Liar!" She punched him in the face, and just as he fell back, the machine Cameron had been battling was thrown by her, and landed right beside him. It reached out toward him, its HUD indicating that Geller was its target, not John or Sarah. It attempted to grab his neck but John shot it in the eye.

It looked at him and he shot it again. "Hey, it's me! John Connor!"

Instantly, its target priority shifted to John and it started to come after him, but Cameron grabbed it in a headlock and forced it to the ground. John opened the trunk of the SUV and got out a toolbox, kneeling beside the machine and extracting a hobby knife and properly sized flat head screwdriver. It only took him several seconds to remove the chip, and they watched the machine go offline. Cameron threw its limp body in the back of their vehicle and they took off down the roads, with Cameron driving, John sleeping, and Sarah keeping her eye on Geller.

When they arrived back at their home, John took Cameron's hand and they went to his room, going to his bed together. John slept but Cameron watched over him during the whole night, right at his side. The next day, John awoke and smiled to see Cameron smiling back at him. He rolled her on top of him and held her in a long kiss. But, then he got up and switched his orientation to where he was at the foot of the bed, grabbing one of her bare feet. He began to draw patterns for several minutes but she didn't seem to respond until her HUD timed him at five minutes. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to see if you can tell what I'm drawing."

Suddenly, it appeared on her HUD, a diagram of the foot and all of its nerve endings, which lit up as John touched them, spelling out a pattern. Cameron smiled widely when she saw what he was spelling. "John?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you, too."

Sarah had been pacing around outside their door for the last ten minutes, listening to their conversation. She smiled when she heard Cameron say that, but quickly turned around and aimed her Glock as Geller approached. "Stay the hell away from my son!"  
"Accident! God!"

"I don't believe you. I don't know why I shouldn't kill you right now." Before she could await a response, her phone rang, indicating that it was Ellison. She answered it quickly, but kept her gun aimed at Geller. "Yeah?"

Ellison turned around to stare at Silberman, still shackled, as he talked on the phone. "Got an interesting development here. You remember our old mutual friend, don't you? Doctor Peter Silberman."

"Haven't heard that name in a while."

"No, I don't guess you have. He tried to hold my employees hostage. I figured you might have some words for him, too."

"I do. How long you keeping him?"

"Until you think you're done with him."

"Yeah. I'll see if John wants to come."

"I'll keep him here as long as you need, but sometime he's going back to Pescadero."

"Well, he should. He tried to burn you alive. He's obviously insane."

"Yeah, give me a heads up when you're dropping by."

"Will do. Goodbye."

"Yeah." She hung up on him and stared back at where Geller was to see that he had left. She stared at John's bedroom door, prepared to knock and tell him, but wasn't sure if now was a good time. She figured John and Cameron could use all the time together they could get so she left to look for Geller, to keep an eye on him.


	29. Episode 217 Requiem

Episode 217 – Requiem

The metal clashes were thin and tinny, as John Connor was dressed in the TARPE suit, battling the T-888 that attempted to attack them a few days ago. He'd pinned the machine on the ground, using his legs to hold down its right arm and legs. Its left arm was being pinned behind its back, being pulled by John. The suit's audio receptors cranked themselves up to the maximum level, and John could hear the metal tearing and popping. A deep scan revealed that the machinery was completely busted by the suit's strength.

He looked down across its back, the suit's targeting system comparing the shape and position to the known parts of a T-888, and it isolated a device, describing it as a weak point. John shoved his fist open-handed into the back, tearing through flesh and metal alike in a loud crunch, and then pulled it out, bringing a large amalgamation of circuitry, wiring, hydraulic cables and servos, an action which caused the machine to convulse violently. He watched it for a second before crushing the component in his hand as if were a sheet of paper.

They were in a house being built in a new, large suburb, most of the other houses also being in a similar state. John picked the machine up and swung it forward underhanded, causing it to soar through several walls and land in a pool of concrete which was still in the process of drying.

The suit's arms had freshly been equipped with a pneumatic atomizer, which he used to spray thermite over the triple eight before pulling out, lighting, and tossing the flare hidden inside of a compartment in his right forearm. He watched it burn for several minutes, melting the concrete along with it.

To his left was a large semi truck, and he walked towards it, climbing into the trailer and spotting several of the Zeira Corp scientists, along with two large mechanical rings, one which spun on the axis of the other, with interior edges fitted with various types of tools. He stepped in the middle, and the tools began going to work, unscrewing and removing the armor plates, exposing the internal layer full of complex machinery and support frames, weapon systems, and circuitry. The tools then began to go to work in removing those pieces, as well, and when they were finished John was revealed to be in his ordinary clothing. He turned to Murch and smiled. "I don't know. I do love the Mark IV design, but I feel like this is an outdated way of taking it on and off. Can't it be just like the Mark III where you could remove it independently?"

"It's gonna take a huge rework of the endoskeleton, weapons have to be moved around. It's a big job."

"Yeah, also, the left and right sides of the breast plates should open up and have a series of micro-missiles just like the shoulders. And where are we with the flight?"

"I don't know, sir. It's proving difficult. The plasma-ion rockets don't need fuel, of course, but we just don't have a power source that can support sustained flight. I mean, these Hydrogen fuel cells only allow 5 seconds at 100 meters with a speed of 550kph. It's not all that great. If we go more than 5 seconds, the power draw exceeds 115% capacity of what the fuel cells can put out."

"What about aerodynamics? Can something the size and shape of a man be made to achieve lift and stay in the air?"

"Yeah, we actually almost have that down pat, with the proper control flaps in all the right places."

"Well, I think I can fix our problems. What I'll need is the plans for the Mark IV and a fully disassembled Mark III to work off of as a jumping point. I can take all of it home and I should have a mockup for the Mark V pretty soon. Trust me, you're gonna love it."

"Yes, sir. We'll have it shipped immediately."

"Thank you, Mr. Murch."

"One more thing, John. Call your mother and Cameron, you guys have a new house. More like a manor, really. Large, many bedrooms, all titanium and transparent aluminum, with advanced defenses. Sort of like the house you guys had before. Oh, and a gigantic basement, with a huge mechanics workshop and mechanical fabrication hub. It's so you can construct new suit designs right there in your home. It has a foundry, assembly line, the works."

"That's pretty awesome."

"We've already got everything moved, and we're taking you there now. Your old Mark III is already there."

They arrived quickly at the house, John being impressed at what he saw, and he immediately left the vehicle, when suddenly Sarah and Cameron pulled up beside him. He turned to Cameron and smiled. "No sense not to go ahead and get to work. To the basement."

He examined the massive complex, and looked over to see several brand new cars, including a Camaro, which he'd stated is his favorite. A voice suddenly came from nowhere, which startled John a little bit. "Hello, who might you be, sir?"

He heard a servo whirring and looked up to see a gun turret pointed at him, but below the barrel there was a stun gun attached, and its ports had just opened to expose the barbs. "Uh, don't shock me. I'm John."

"Ah, master Connor, home at last I see."

"Yeah, um, you are?"

"Wilson, the house AI." Suddenly a holographic interface popped up in front of him with extensive information on this Wilson.

"Good to meet you, I guess."

"Yes, I will be able to assist you with anything you require, and I run the fabrication wing. I'll build what you require."

"Okay, let's get to work."

Cameron smiled and looked over all of the computers.

"Cameron, I'm gonna need you to get me some things, procure them through Zeira Corporation. I'm going to build a mirco-fusion reactor. That gun you helped mom build in the bank vault back in 1999 gave me an idea."

"But it's not possible. Skynet hadn't even come close to it when I left."

"Yeah, but I can do this. I've been studying the plans for magnetic confinement fusion reactors, and I came up with the idea to alter the poloidal field coils. Instead of a static field wrapped around the reaction chamber, it can be ten electromagnetic coils designed to be rotate at high RPMs around the chamber. It'll pull the plasma at higher speeds and should increase the efficiency."

"What tools do you need?"

"Uh, you know, smelting cup, precision tools, welding tools, all kinds. Arc, plasma, oxyacetylene, doesn't matter. Actually, uh, all of them. Hammers, maybe, copper wiring, Lithium, Palladium, Gold, Tritanimum, saws, and some wicked ass processors that can handle the power management and sequencing programs. Place an order for anything else we need, okay?"

"Okay. Wilson," As soon as she said the name, holographic displays popped up all around her with computer files and data streams. "Open a new project file, file it in miniature power generation systems. I need you to render 3D components to my exact specifications with the intention of manipulation and reassignment of components as necessary. First of all, we need a ring, specified material of gold-plated palladium with a circular open gap in the center and around the edge, alternating extruded edges with the sunken in edges designed to mount an Lithium condenser within every alternating edge. The diameter of the circle should be 15 millimeters with the protruding edges extending 1.5 millimeters beyond that, and the hole in the center should be 12.5 millimeters. Execute. Suddenly, a green holographic wireframe model of the part appeared before her, rotating with a prompt asking if it was rendered properly.

She continued to prattle on about the parts whilst John looked at his screen, her voice fading out as he looked through the 3D models of the Mark IV suit, with comparisons to the Mark III. He began to do his own designs and modifications, creating first a new endoskeletal chassis layer from the feet up, scrapping or moving parts as necessary to create a more effective and mobile suit, with servos in new positions to facilitate full dexterity and range of motion in all joints, along with adding his own weaponry pieces and extra components for flight control flaps.

In several hours, a Zeira cargo truck wheeled into the large fabrication lab/garage in which they were working, coming through a large concrete-steel gate which descended into the ground. Several paramilitary troops began unloading the crates, and helped John set the components up until everything was in place so that they could leave.

John walked over to a laser mold cutting device which created the smelting molds and brought them over to a large furnace when complete. He began pouring the metal and eventually had the proper components once they were cooled. He finished the assembly and plugged a USB cord into a port on the device, uploading the power program and watching the poloidal coils begin to spin up. "Long sustainability, high output, in a small package. Plus it looks cool when it's running. A spinning red glowing blur around a bright blue orb of light. Gotta admire that. Hey, if we make it visible in the chest, it could be kind of intimidating to human enemies, right?"

"Are you trying to copy Iron Man?"

"You know who Iron Man is?"

"Yes. In a way, he's like the opposite of what I am. Metal on the outside, flesh underneath. Making it visible would make it a target. I wouldn't suggest letting your main power source be the main target for your enemies."

"Yeah, you're right. We'll keep it hidden. I've designed an efficient way to bleed off the waste heat. Since when the power lines are pumped with that much current during high power draw situations, it could fry me or another wearer."

"And backup power sources?"

"There are two. The first is the hydrogen fuel cells from the previous models. If we have to defer all systems to those, flight won't be possible. The second is simple lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that are replenished thanks to linear induction from the joints. Every movement I make provides power to the batteries."

"If forced to use those, there will only be enough power for the movement systems, with the CPU running at very low levels only operating the movement control and feedback algorithms."

"Yeah, I know it's not ideal but I don't exactly plan to be walking around all the time with my suit's batteries 1 percent away from dying."

"Good point. How is the rest of the suit going?"

"Well, all the test renders and physics models indicate it will work perfectly, and Wilson claims his physics models are almost always 99.9% accurate."

"Show me a simulation."

"Okay, Wilson,"

Again his disembodied voice projected from hidden speakers around the area suddenly filled the environment, possessing its usual light English accent. "Yes, sir?"

"Combat test simulation, Mark five power suit. Conflict area: Iraq, desert under mountainous terrain. Hostiles: 15 tanks, 18 anti-aircraft gun installments, 350 Taliban unarmored troops with small arms, and 8 JAVELIN missile launchers with one reload each. Hidden amongst these troops is a series 888 terminator, assign appropriate properties to whomever you choose, but do not show us which one it is. Also, the terrorists have hostages, which we are to save at all costs. Another thing, friendly planes will arrive in the air after picking up our Radar profile, but they will assume we are hostile. Evade, do not engage. Every time the armored suit is damaged beyond scuffed paint or shallow bullet holes, record all pertinent data and telemetry, then recommend changes to the suit that could fix the problem. Run simulation."

In the middle of the lower garage level, down some steps from their working area, a large round platform arose from the floor and lights began emitting from several depressions in the surface, forming multicolored wireframe 3D holograms with high detail. It began by showing the Mark V flying high in the sky, indicated by clouds rendered via particle physics, appearing as a series of white points closely tied together. A cylindrical display was showing what would be on the Heads-Up-Display of the suit at the moment, and one indicator depicted an altimeter topping out at 4km, while another display showed the suit's horizontal orientation relative to the horizon, and was maintaining what was stated as a "horizon lock" where the suit stayed perfectly level in relation to it. Another indicator was one depicting the distance from the combat zone, which was currently at 356km, and going down fast. As it reached the 280km mark, the suit began to slow down significantly while lowering its elevation by comparable amounts, until finally the speed was zero and the elevation zero, where the suit was standing in the middle of hundreds of soldiers, 4 tanks, and one of the soldiers had a JAVELIN.

The leader shouted something in Arabic, and the missile was let loose to fly at the armored holographic man. He waited until almost the last possible second, shrugging off bullet hits from Kalashnikov rifles and various handguns. When the missile was barely a meter away, he blasted as quick as he could into the sky, and even the impressive abilities of a JAVELIN couldn't match that kind of speed and precision timing. The missile was preparing to turn and chase him, but instead collided with a small mesa, which was destroyed by the enormous explosion.

He turned in the air to look down at the crowd of terrorists when, suddenly, his pectoral armor plating flipped open, revealing a series of about twenty rockets on each side. He caused the suit to close the right pectoral plate, and fired only ten from his left side. At first, they seemed to just fly straight into the horizon, which caused some of the men to laugh. They were caught off guard when, suddenly, the missiles made a breakneck turn and headed individually into areas where the soldiers were gathered in a tighter group to maximize their destruction. When they landed, they all seemingly failed to detonate for a few seconds, just to allow the men a short last laugh.

Despite their tiny size, the explosion of each one of the rockets covered an area of about 30 meters, killing nearly everyone, and they were so strategically placed away from each other that the flames from their individual explosions never touched, yet the concussion wave spread much, much farther. It was then that the armor had found its true target, as the fires had burned all of its flesh off and left it a pure endoskeleton. The T-888 was rising up from the destruction, undamaged other than the loss of the skin.

The Mark V flew down, boot and hand plasma-ion thrusters running at maximum power, and at the last moment, he cranked down the power and used the hand thrusters to slow his descent, adjusting his pitch to horizon lock as he collided with the 888 at high speed, grabbing it and taking it high in the sky. The flight was harder to control without his hand thrusters, but not impossible, and he eventually reached the altitude he was attempting to reach. He then partially let go of the triple eight but quickly grabbed hold of the servos mimicking the human collarbones, crushing them in their hands at the point where the smaller rod inserts into the large cylinder. He then performed a quick flip in the air, heading toward the ground headfirst, and after a few hundred meters, he ripped the two servos off and let both them and the series 888 drop to the ground before quickly stabilizing himself to avoid falling and to watch what was happening.

As soon as the machine hit the ground, it broke apart, into hundreds of pieces scattered over almost 100 meters of desert. He realized he wouldn't be able to collect all the parts to burn them, but this was not his only predicament. As he was flying around, circling the crash site like a vulture, he was suddenly struck very hard in the chest, causing him to go soaring for nearly a kilometer before he was able to stop himself. He searched diligently for the source of the impact, and then realized that not all of the human terrorists are dead. The simulation version of Wilson offered the suggestion that the impact was from triple-A installments.

The HUD feed that John and Cameron could see showed made up CIA surveillance files on where these anti-aircraft guns were located, and he had the data cross referenced with his GPS and told simulated Wilson to create augmented reality way-points to guide him to the guns. He flew downward and east, eventually locating one of them but it appeared to have fallen into disrepair. He continued this 17 more times until he found the AAA cannon, with a team of soldiers around it, who all began firing at him, the bullets simply ricocheting off of his armor, some of which reflected right back into the foreheads, arms, legs or hearts of the troops.

The large gun swung around and aimed right at him and fired, which knocked him ten meters down to the ground below. The remaining troops ran down the stairs and surrounded him as he began to get up. He made his suit scan them all, getting target locks with LIDAR and RADAR, and opened the left pectoral plate, exposing the remaining ten missiles. He knew he would be caught up in the explosion, but the suit calculated that it would only experience a twenty percent loss in structural integrity. He fired, instinctively shielding his face with his armored forearms despite the presence of an equally as armored helmet.

After the smoke cleared, he stood up and looked at the crater the explosion had left. Unfortunately, the AAA gun still existed but most of the metal supports had been destroyed by the explosion, and the gunner killed. His suit calculated the currently estimated kills as only 200, meaning there were were still 150 left. He soared about twenty meters into the air and scanned the area, and estimated that the hostages were with the other 150. After several moments, he was hit by a tank shell, which severely damaged the abdominal armor plates and knocked him out of the air. His landing left a crater a meter deep, and while in it, he looked down and saw a quite large hole, with several of the servos struggling to move but being blocked by the large lead slug. He inserted his hand and ripped out the slug, but it took several of the servos with it.

The simulation's Wilson calculated the trajectory of the bullet, and he then headed towards it, slamming his fist into the lead vehicle of a large column of tanks, ripping through several armors of layer and grabbing the gunner, then pulling him out, ripping up more armor on the way. He snapped the man's neck and threw him aside before grabbing the front end of the main cannon and putting all the power he could into the thrusters and moving the tank to hover over the second one in the column from about 350 meters. He simply let go of the cannon, and when the two tanks impacted each other, the destruction was immense, with all of the extra cannon shells and explosive powders detonating, and three more of the tanks were destroyed.

He opened his right pectoral plate, and targeted the remaining tanks, programming two missiles each for them. They fired off, 16 missiles in all, and each pair embedded into the armor of their respective target, again with those few seconds of delay before detonating. The simulated John Connor flew 7km into the air and scanned the area, finding a village where the hostages were likely to be and landed. As soon as the soldiers saw him there, they each grabbed a hostage. There were only seven people left that they hadn't killed, and he attempted to come up with a tactical solution, running dozens of scenarios through simulation Wilson's program, until he happened upon one that could kill the seven terrorists and save the hostages.

He once again opened the pectoral plate, and the soldiers laughed and one spoke to him in Arabic, which the suit translated as subtitles on the HUD, "You moron. We know those cause a huge explosion. If you want these villagers alive, that will definitely kill them."

Unfortunately for the terrorists, there was a warning icon on the HUD stating, "PROMETHEUS STING MISSILE TIMER DISARMED".

He fired them, and they all steered right past the villagers and into the exact center of each of the troops' foreheads, just as powerful as a bullet, and they all collapsed. He walked over to the villagers, and told Wilson to activate voice synthesis and speak in Arabic. The speakers emitted his voice, "You're all safe now. My name is John Connor. Remember it."

John extended his hand and touched a button, which caused the scenario to pause. "I have an idea, Wilson."

"I'm listening, sir."

"Let's have the armor be modular, okay? Something like... Gauntlets, shoulder weapons, and chest weapons that are interchangeable with different weaponry configurations, or even tools. Also, move those weaponry and tool components into the armor layer rather than the endoskeletal chassis."

"I'll put it in my modified designs, sir."

"You're not overwriting my original blueprints, are you?"

"No sir, I copied your blueprint file and I've been working on that copy."

"Okay, resume simulation."

Wilson did so, showing John talking to an old man. He once again spoke in Arabic, "Do you know where the rest of them are?"

The village elder nodded his head. "In caverns, the Eastern mountains. Metal man, please, kill them all when you find them. They are terrorists. They do not represent Islam."

"I will. How will I know if I've found it?"

"There is only one cave in the entire mountain range, and they will obviously be defending it outside. They have a lot of crates with guns in them."

"Okay. I'm gonna need everyone to hide, somewhere safe. "Everyone, be careful. If you hear trucks come by, hide. Promise me you'll stay safe. Every human life is precious, because there's a nuclear apocalypse coming. Some time soon."

They all nodded at once and began walking away. Simulation Wilson spoke to him, "Perhaps you should have stayed for a few hours to guard them."

"We have a job here, and I'm going to see it through. Were you able to decrypt the CIA's intelligence for that mountain range?"

"Yes, sir. I have the precise coordinates for the cavern, and an analysis of their forces. CIA intel estimates 150 terrorists are hiding in those caverns. They're part of a new terrorist cell that has only just risen in the last two years, called 'Ra's Al Ghul', which means-"

"The Demon's Head."

"Yes, how did you know?"

"I'm a fan of Batman."

As soon as he said the name, Wilson scanned the internet for all the data on Batman and Ra's Al Ghul. "I see, sir. Very nice, indeed."

"Yeah. Take me there, Wilson."

"Affirmative." Wilson began controlling the flight functions of the suit, taking him off in the direction of the caverns. He shrugged off the incoming AK-47 fire and flew at the two guards with his arms outstretched, hitting both of them and taking them through the thin metal and wood makeshift door, and crash landing. He stood up and shook it off, looking over at the two guards, whose heads were nearly twisted off due to a broken neck from the impact.

He picked up both of their Kalashnikovs, and the suit's sensors analyzed the weight, cross-referencing it with the audiovisual records to indicate an ammunition count. The right one had twenty left out of thirty and the left one had twenty-five. He moved quickly through the caverns, efficiently using only one round per terrorist that he found, with easy head shots aided by the advanced software. Eventually, the rifles were out of ammunition, and he tossed them, using the powerful mechanical arms after that point.

He was standing beside a wall and attempted to hit one terrorist, who was lucky enough to dodge it, causing simulation John's hand to become stuck in the rock face. He tried to pull it out when he heard the clicking of an AK-47's charging bolt. He looked over and saw the terrorist aiming the rifle right at his forehead. He chuckled without activation of his speech system, so the terrorist couldn't hear him.

The man pulled the trigger, and died when the round ricocheted and went straight through his forehead, spraying his brains and skull fragments all over the rock. John wrenched his arm out as hard as he could, breaking up the rock and freeing him with only scratched paint.

He continued through the caves, easily disposing of what he referred to as the "terrorist scum". His suit identified 65 kills of the 150 which were supposed to be in the caves, which he smiled at. He armed the micro-missiles stored in his shoulder units and began firing one into each room he came upon which showed human signatures on the sensors, quickly arriving to 100 kills. He continued to move through the caverns, coming to the end of the cave complex, according to his sensors, which cross-referenced their readings with the CIA intelligence. It was a gigantic room, stockpiled with weapons, including stolen missiles. Wilson scanned over them, and their launchers, indicating that they were stolen Zeira Corporation weapons, advanced designs equipped with powerful sensors and CPUs from terminators, and were just as intelligent as a human, meaning that, with their advanced fins and navigational equipment, they could pursue an aircraft and perform complicated maneuvers just as well as a human, and far more relentlessly.

But something else bothered John even more. There were four Mark II suits, and he felt angry that the worst people alive were using technology that he helped build to commit massacres. He began by opening the panels in his arms, which loaded small charges that were pneumatically launched. He shot them at the warheads of the missiles and the containers that were storing ammunition, grenades or RPG ammo, to which they stuck thanks to magnetism and small spikes that allowed them to stick to the wood crates.

He began wondering where the other 50 terrorists were, considering that this was the last area in the cave. His suit scanned across all the spectra its sensors would allow for, but still couldn't find anyone. Suddenly, he was knocked hard on the back of the head and flew farther into the cave, taking a few seconds to pick himself up from the ground, looking behind him for the source of the attack.

He was shocked by what he saw, a man walking toward him donned with a fifth Mark II. He shook his head and stuck his arm out, the launcher loading up another charge. He fired two, which stuck to the person wearing the stolen armor, with the timer set to only one second, detonating and destroying the suit and the wearer.

"Bye, scum."

However, he couldn't identify any human remains, and began to worry. The armor appeared to be operating autonomously.

Suddenly, the eye lenses in the other four suits grew bright white, and they began moving to surround John. He chuckled for a second and grabbed the one by his right, swinging it over his head and slamming it into the one at his left, then the one in front of him. He was puzzled at how quickly they got up, because the MK II's didn't have the shock dampening equipment, so the wearer would have definitely felt that, and would be hurting now.

He blocked an attack from one of them and ripped off the face plate of the helmet, shocked when he saw that no one was in the suit. He remembered it, the suits have a series 888 CPU, and it could have been equipped with a CPU from a Skynet terminator, or the one in the suit could have been programmed to operate themselves. He knew that it was a dire mistake to underestimate the intelligence of terrorists, or to assume they don't know how to use a computer.

The Mark V, fortunately, is programmed with the blueprint files of all of the previous suit models, and it suggested a way to pull out the CPU and its power source in the event it had some sort of backup or remote control. He took them on one by one, pulling the appropriate components out, and used the suit's ability to integrate new CPUs to increase its computing power. The forearm plates opened up, and pieces of machinery grabbed the new chips, inserting them into a slot with a connection port, and Wilson began downloading the data.

After he'd dispatched of all four of the hostile armor suits, Wilson informed him of his finding, "Originally, there were only fifty terrorists from another cell hiding in these caves. But they were all killed when these five suits came to the cave."

"Wait, why?"

"Well, the 100 terrorists you killed on your way in here considered this cell to be a rival cell, so they stole Zeira Corporation weaponry being shipped to United States Marine Corps forces to assist in the war effort with the terrorist regimes over here. They stole the entire shipment, which included the suits, and reprogrammed them."

"Why didn't they wear the suits?"

"They never looked inside. They assumed that they were robots, and not meant to be worn."

"So, that means we're done here."

"It might, if it weren't for the fact that I've hacked the communication systems of the USS Enterprise and have received word that several F/A-18s are en route to the area upon hearing of your... Escapades."

"What do we do? You know they're going to try to shoot us down, or either they'll send Marines into this cave if we try to stay here. I am _not _killing any of our military forces."

"Do you want them to arrest you, sir?"

"Of course not. Contact Weaver, and try to see if she can smooth this over."

He headed out of the cave and flew into the air, triggering the detonation of the charges in order to destroy all of the stolen weaponry. He was flying away as fast as possible, when suddenly the two jets passed him. He stopped for a second only to see them turn around, and kept moving as fast as possible.

"Sir, Weaver has tried, but, well, SECNAV isn't buying it. They're being ordered to destroy us."

"Okay, open a com-link to the lead pilot." Wilson did so and there was a faint hiss filling the space of his helmet. "Uh, hello, can you hear me?"

"Who is this?"

"I'm inside the robot looking thing that you've been ordered to destroy, and I'm a man, a person, so I really want to ask you if you can please not shoot me down. I'll come with you to your ship, and maybe I can talk this over with your Captain or something."

"Explain. Now. You are using classified stolen weapons technology that is the property of the United States Department of the Navy. You are in an active hostile war, carrying out strategic military operations."

"You see, this one is not exactly your property. I'm kind of the designer of this, well, so called stolen weapons tech. This is a test run of a new model, one with flight and better weaponry and you know, I did kill those terrorists for you with zero civilian casualties. You guys only have up to the Mark III now, and well, this is the Mark V."

"Affirmative. Unidentified bogey, follow us." He did so, and while they had to do a complicated maneuver of lining up with the ball on the stern of the ship, and be stopped by an arresting wire, all John had to do was hover over the deck and slowly stop. He opened up the face plate so they could see his face and held his hands up in a surrendering pose as a whole squad of Marines surrounded him and kept a bead on him with their M4A1s.

"Make a hole." Several Marines moved to their left or right and the Captain of the ship walked forward to him, puffing on a cigar. "So, you're John Weaver, the guy who has saved thousands of lives of our military men and women with these suits?"

"Yes, sir."

"Hot damn, it is nice to meet you. Really nice. You're a great man, son. A real patriot."

"That I am, Captain." He saluted the man, who returned it.

"That's a damn nice suit, John. I mean, the Mark III's are great, but damn... The paint's scratched on this one, and there's a hole in your stomach, but whatever made it didn't get through to you. That'll save a lot of lives when it goes into production."

"I plan on making a lot of improvements before then, though. But you guys'll have the Mark IV soon."

"Well, thank you, son."

"Sir, can you fix this situation for me, maybe? And, well, let me go? I need to get back home."

"You live in LA, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, we've brought you to US air space, but on the East Coast, not the West. Go, if you really need to."

"Um, sir, I have an idea."

"What's that?"

"Maybe, if you can get it approved, I'd like to make this a temporary base of some sort. It can be a test of how this will work for your pilots. I'd like this great ship to be a mobile sea base for this suit, with a docking station stored with spare parts, extra ammo, the assembly gantry and everything."

"I'll see if I can get it approved. Get on home, son."

John and Cameron watched the simulation John fly home and then the simulation ended. Cameron grabbed John's hand, winked, and smiled. He knew what that meant and smiled back, at which point she began pulling on his arm but he stopped moving with her, so her strength caused him to fall down on the floor and slide. "Cameron, wait, stop!"

She did so and helped him up. "Why, John?"

"I just wanna give some instructions to Wilson real quick."

"Oh. Sorry."

After hearing his name but waiting for their conversation to end, Wilson responded. "Sir?"

"Run. Say, 7000 more simulations, each with different tactical scenarios, and have a recommendation of changes for tomorrow morning, say, noon."

"Sir, that will require me to run the simulations at, on average, 800 times the speed. It will seriously tax my systems and emit a high amount of heat."

"Well, could you defer the sims to your triple eight CPU server?"

"Possibly. I will try, sir. Do I have permission to engage the secondary and tertiary cooling systems?"

"Yes." He grabbed Cameron's hand and they ran up to the master bedroom.


	30. Episode 218 Man in the Machine

Episode 218 – No name yet lol

John entered the basement of their new house, yawning because Cameron's desires kept him up all night. He looked at the holographic clock being projected on the glass door leading into the basement, and then looked at a projected hologram of a keypad below the clock on which he entered the code which caused the door to slide to the left.

He walked in and sat down at a workstation. "Hey, Wilson."

"Good morning, sir."

"Simulations finished?"

"Affirmative."

"Good. What's the story?"

"I've constructed two suits, sir. One from your original design, another from the changes I've made due to the simulation data."

"I'm really excited to see. What AI is in the suit?"

"Well, sir, I don't wish to sound conceited, but I am linked with the armor using various wireless based systems."

"Okay, that's good. Show me." He watched as, in the lower area of the garage, a series of large metal rings arose from the concrete floor, surrounding a platform. The rings were built like gimbals, with one rotating around the other. Their interior edges were tracks on which gantry arms equipped with tools to assemble the armor could move. These machines moved on their tracks, going under the floor, and arriving on the opposite side with a piece of the armor, until it was eventually completely assembled.

He examined it, liking the red with gold highlights as a color scheme. "Wilson, try adding maybe US Navy markings and aircraft registration numbers to yours. Push all that through for me, will you? I'm gonna take this one out for now."

John walked over to stand on the platform, and the mechanical devices got to work as the armor was taken apart and reassembled over John's body. The programming began loading up, with a loading bar at the center of the screen. At certain points of loading, a component icon of the HUD would appear above the bar before moving to its appropriate position. He then enjoyed how animated the view was, with a dock in the lower right corner of round icons enlarging and displaying certain information before filing back away into the dock.

On both the top and bottom parts of the screen, there were degree gauges along with a heading/turn-slip indicator with an altimeter on the left, a targeting reticule that was constantly moving around to highlight objects while growing or shrinking with distance, and a scanning wireframe that moved over the world, creating a 3D environment map and displaying internet research on objects in small windows beside the reticule.

There was also an advanced three dimensional AESA RADAR/LIDAR combined with a Ring Laser Gyro-Compass projection in the left lower corner which displayed a sphere at which the armor and its wearer were always in the center, and any hostiles would be displayed in their position relative to the center of said sphere, if within range. One of the most important features was the status panel wheel composed of a speedometer, 3D armor diagnostic model, selected and standby weaponry, the thrust levels of the individual engines, and an EEG/EKG. It was large, taking up the entire right half of the screen, but was only active when absolutely necessary. Otherwise, it was minimized in the dock.

John stood there, sighing as he took it in and nodded. "Wilson, let's do a check of the control flaps, okay?"

"Right, away, sir." The check involved Wilson activating all of the panel manipulators, which moved nearly every single armor plate in order to alter the aerodynamic profile of the armor and make steering possible. Inside the helmet, the HUD had nearly everything docked saved for a rotating rendered model of the armor, showing its actual pose and the movement of the plating in real time. "Control systems one-hundred percent."

"Good, activate flight mode. Begin weather and ATC checks and inform Ground Control." At this, the HUD changed, with a horizon line appearing around the reticule and a pitch ladder appearing above and below it, with the reticule growing to cover almost the entire screen except when the status wheel was needed.

Because Sarah, John and Cameron all knew that he was blatantly lying about trying to shoot John being an accident, they hadn't told Geller where the new house was, and had left him at the old one. John faced the entrance port of the garage, and asked Wilson to open the door. A klaxon sounded and yellow spinning warning lights on either side of the door activated as it descended into the floor. John looked in to see the spiraling hallway that was normally for cars to leave the garage, but was also designed to be the launching point for a suit like this, the Mark V, which can fly.

He used the thrusters on his hands and feet to stabilize his flight, with the ones on the back acting purely to provide thrust. He lifted into the air, and oriented himself parallel to the ground before firing all of the engines at 15 percent power, which caused him to speed through the car port.

It spiraled six times before finally emptying into open air, and once he was free to do so, John fired everything at 60 percent power, reaching an altitude of one kilometer before stopping to hover and examine the area. He could see nearly all of LA from such a height, and began comparing where he was looking to maps of the city.

He twisted around to face northeast and sped off, arriving at the old house in less than a minute. He landed hard in the driveway, crunching the pavement and causing a high pitched metallic ping to ring out. He walked to the door and ripped it out of the frame to walk inside the house. His thermal sensors indicated that Geller had been asleep, but must have heard the sounds and was now loading up what appeared to be an M4A1 on X-Ray and Magnetic Resonance sensors. He saw through the wall and saw Geller taking up a cover position, his back against the wall beside his bedroom door.

John knew this was the perfect moment to strike, and stood right behind him on the other side. He shoved both of his arms through the wall, one on either side of Geller, and ripped him right through it, tearing through the sheet rock and wooden studs like it was nothing. He swung Geller through the air, overhead, and onto the ground in a way that allowed him to saddle him for the interrogation.

John opened the faceplate, which popped out slightly with a hiss and moved on a track installed in the helmet so that it was upside down, on the back side of the helmet. "John?"

"WHY?!"

"Why what?"

"Why are you trying to kill me?"

"I'm not, I swear."

"LIAR!" He grabbed him by his neck and threw him through another wall, which landed him in John's old room which was now empty. John grabbed Geller again and pointed his free hand up to the ceiling and fired the plasma-ion thruster, causing a large one meter diameter hole to form. He held Geller tight against him and blasted off, stopping at a height of 50 meters. He took Geller by the neck and outstretched his arm, which caused him to scramble to try to get a good grip on the suit's arm.

"John, please-"

"BEG TO ME!" A port on his forearm opened up, and he began pulling out a long carbon filament cord with a clamp at the end, which he began to wrap around Geller's torso. He shoved Geller off and watched him fall for about twenty meters, screaming the entire way before he was slowed down and stopped by the cord. After a few seconds, the cord retracted at an extremely fast rate, bringing Geller back into John's grip. "Beg. Or tell me what you know."

"Okay, okay. Yeah, I was sent back to kill you. But I never wanted to. Everyone has their mission, and everyone has to follow orders."

"Just following orders? THAT'S your excuse? Why would I order you to kill myself?"

"No, it wasn't you. It was Jesse Flores." As soon as John heard that name, rage and painful memories built up inside him, and he flew down to a height of ten meters and allowed the spool of cord to unravel and only start to slow down at the last meter, meaning Geller landed hard and probably with some broken bones, but he would still be alive. John ejected the magazine containing the spool, and another one loaded into its place as the arm folded back into its normal shape.

"Wilson, I've always wanted to go to New York. Can you fabricate some sort of excuse?"

"You don't need one. There are a series of homicides which the NYPD is investigating that appear to be closely linked with terminator activities."

"Take me there."

"Yes sir. Turn ninety degrees eastward..." It only took John a little under fifteen minutes to arrive in the city, where he hovered beside the Empire State Building and examined the breathtaking sprawl of skyscrapers. He told Wilson that if he were on the ground, he'd be on his knees, breathless with awe.

"I've always wanted to go to Manhattan, Wilson. Download all relevant NYPD homicide files related to possible terminator activities."

"Yes, sir." John's eyes darted around to different areas of the holograms floating around inside the tight confines of the helmet, reading the detective reports and closely examining the crime scene photos, along with the laser scans and sketches of the scenes.

"Cameron might worry about where I am. Send a text for me, please. Apprise her of the situation. Also, point me in the direction of the latest crime scene, and activate detective mode."

"Yes sir, as you know, detective mode prevents the suit from contaminating the scene and also performs specialized scans of the crime scene designed to locate and isolate evidence on the view presented by the Heads-Up-Display."

"So evidence stands out against the background?"

"Yes, sir." John had flown quickly and arrived at the scene in an out of the way alley in only a matter of seconds, and landed carefully. There was a wireframe grid over the environment, which was pulsating because, as the suit sent out its sensor waves, the area on the grid which intersected with the wavefront grew brighter until the wave passed. John located a piece of evidence, which the suit identified as blood, and took a swab provided by a panel in his left forearm. He rolled it around in the blood and inserted it back into the same area from which it came, which caused the words "Mass Spectrometer Processing Sample" to appear on his HUD.

He continued to look around the area when there was a soft beeping sound, and the results of the scan appeared in the forefront of his field of vision. It indicated that the blood was a synthetic compound, the kind used to supply oxygen to the flesh covering of the series 888 terminator. The suit attenuated the sensors to scan for more samples, and John found thousands of fine, small droplets on one of the walls, which caused Wilson to analyze the splatter pattern, indicating that it was caused by a gunshot, caliber unknown.

"Scan for a blood trail."

"Sir, there is less than a liter of synthesized blood in any one triple eight unit, and they are programmed to shut off the pneumatic pump operating their blood pressure in the event of a large wound, so that the flesh will not die due to being unable to attain oxygen. It is unlikely the trail will extend for more than one block."

"I know, but it's a start." John flew off into the air and scanned the area, seeing the blood trail dot off into the distance, and followed from the rooftops, boost jumping across them. The trail eventually ended, and his suit continued to scan the area, unable to locate any further evidence. "Wilson, anything?"

"No, sir. I am unable to locate any further pertinent evidence."

"Dammit. Well, I'm here to see the sights, anyway. Let's fly, take me on a tour."

"Yes, sir." John flew up into the sky and followed augmented reality waypoint markers generated by Wilson, going at a just low enough speed to maintain lift. He landed in Central Park, taken by surprised when he was surrounded by three, what looked like men. "Sir, shall we test the new designs you've made to the suits?"

"Yeah, are they trip eights?"

"I am 98% certain."

"Well, you'd better be."

"Block one of their punches. I'll measure the force. If it's beyond capacity for their height-weight-"

"Got it." He blocked it and the force registered on a graph, far above human norms. John smiled and shoved his fist into its chest, causing a large splash of synthesized flesh and Coltan to spiral and ricochet off of his armor. He brought his other fist up to cave in the area around the CPU, causing the machine to fall over and go offline.

He grabbed the machine on his left and flew quickly up into the air, flipped it over his head and threw it down to the ground, where it crashed, with some of its servos ripping apart under its skin and ripping through it. He landed roughly beside the other machine and opened his faceplate. "By the way, I'm John Connor. If you things still want to come after me, just know, you've got a fight on your hands. Warn as many other machines as you can."

He was impressed as the machine actually turned around and ran just as he ordered it to. Wilson activated his speech synthesis to inform John of some pertinent information, "Sir, a cargo net has been added to the armor. We can take these for disposal."

"No, we'll have them melted down for armor repairs."

"Yes, sir."

John grabbed the parts into the net and pinched it between the armor plating in his chest before flying off back towards LA. He landed back in his garage, popped the faceplate in his helmet, and extended a blade from his right forearm which he used to slice up the flesh and throw it into a furnace in order to burn it, before causing the blade to recede and ordering tools to ascend from underneath the floor plating and disassemble the two T-888s and placing the parts on a belt track which fed back into the fabrication lab.

He walked over and stepped onto the assembly gantry platform and let it go to work, at first taking the helmet apart in three separate pieces consisting of the faceplate, and left and right helmet pieces. As soon as the helmet was pulled off, the armored neck collar collapsed into the torso armor, which was then removed in front and back pieces, followed by the endoskeleton frame, arm armor and frame, then the same for the waist and legs, leaving him in his ordinary civilian clothing.

As soon as it was removed, Cameron entered the garage. John was looking at a recessed area in the east wall, and saw the armor, fully assembled rise from and opening in the floor, putting the suit on display as if it were a trophy.

John walked over to the suit and pressed a small metal panel in the middle of the chest, causing a metal lid to flip open to expose the reactor, which he removed and carried over to the table. Cameron was curious as to why he was doing this. "John, why did you remove the reactor?"

"The maintenance sensors were detecting a small defect that could potentially cause problems in the future. The cycles per second are low, and it's causing the plasma to contact the inner reactor wall, burning the Lithium Blanket and damaging it a bit too fast. If I up the cycles, the centripetal force will pull the plasma tighter toward the center of the reaction chamber. In order to do that, though, I'm gonna have to replace this one." John flipped the reactor over to examine it, and pressed a small metal button, which caused the Lithium core to eject from its port, which he pulled out with a set of clamps before opening a small box on his desk to pull out a new one.

Before he inserted it, however, he connected a series of cables to the reactor, one of which plugged into the computer network, and sat down to look at a 3D model of the fusion reactor on the monitor. A window opened with a prompt on it, and he began inputting commands that would increase the spin cycles of the reactor and make it more efficient. After he was done, he inserted the new core and executed the program, watching the reactor spin very fast and emit a large amount of light as the other lights in the room dimmed immensely.

He then typed in a different command, which initiated a diagnostics program which was capable of accurately predicting the power output and longevity, both of which were rated to an extremely high amount. Once the checks were completed, he reinserted it into the armor, which was scanned by a series of blue lasers that created a virtual vacuum form wire grid which was projected over the suit, along with the suit's status and dimensions projected onto the recessed trophy area in the wall. On either side of it were two other armor display alcoves containing the previous four models.

John was curious about the modified version that Wilson was ordered to create and decided to bring it up. "Where's your modified Mark V?"

Suddenly, there was a beeping sound and a holographic arrow appeared in the lower recessed area of the garage, which pointed at a panel in the floor which had lights that were blinking. It rose up from the floor, containing the heavily modified Mark V that varied greatly in appearance when compared to John's version. The arms were modified to have the working components of a fully automatic FN 2000 adapted into wrist mounted cannons, and each shoulder held a miniaturized Gatling cannon which was fully able to pivot in any direction. It was also nearly four meters tall, and seemed more like a Japanese mech than a suit.

John walked up to it and all of the front panels split open to reveal a cockpit, indicating the suit was capable of being equipped without any assistance. John shook his head. "No, Wilson, I won't use it. Keep it in secure storage."

"Why, sir?"

"It's too overzealous. Too powerful for one person, even John Connor."

"Are you quite sure, sir?"

"Yes."

John turned to Cameron and took her hands. "It's gonna work out, I think. We can mass produce the Mark IV and Mark V armors, and the Resistance will be able to win before the series 600 is even a twinkle in Skynet's optical sensors."

"I believe in you."

"I know you do." John turned back around to examine his suit of armor and then let go of Cameron. "I have to admit, I love that thing. More tests."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna do some more tests. We need to gather as much real world data as possible." There was suddenly a beep out of nowhere, and the suit descended into the floor as John walked over to the assembly area, where the gantry rings ascended from the ground and quickly assembled the suit again, which John flew out of the garage and high into the air. The armor linked up with the GPS satellites and assisted him in navigating as he quickly reached Mach 3 while traveling eastward. A diagram of the reactor appeared on his Heads-Up-Display, with a readout of its cycles and power draw while in flight. Just as he predicted when he made the modifications, its output was flowing faster than the armor's power consumption, and the sensors registered ordinary degradation of the Lithium Blanket, even as he pushed the armor faster and faster.

He stopped in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean as he could see the wall of a massive hurricane looming before him. He was breathless with fear at the appearance of such a massive storm, but decided to push the suit to its limits as he headed toward the storm, accelerating faster and faster. Tiny sensors covering the outer armor layer of the suit measured the wind speed and other atmospheric data within the storm, and plotted the best path through it, which John was just barely able to push through as the storm resisted with all of its power.

Eventually, he was flying over England before he'd even realized that had happened, and looking down on the city of London. "Wilson, compile data, analyze."

"Working."

"Let's go home."


	31. Episode 219 Blood and Titanium

Episode 219 – Blood and Titanium

John was laying with Cameron in the large master bedroom of their new house, staring left out the window which had a balcony overlooking the Pacific. He rose up from the bed and approached said window, upon which holographic displays began to pop up, showing weather conditions and relevant news stories. He began scrolling through the windows until he brought up a status display of the Mark V. "Wilson, any word on your internet scans about Skynet? I need a target."

"Yes, sir. I've detected another factory that I've linked with Kaliba-CRS. However, their servers are heavily encrypted, with programming I've only seen on quantum state CPUs."

"Are the suit's sensors sophisticated enough to gather data on this place?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, I'll take it there and see what there is to find." He descended into the basement, equipped the armor, and flew several hundred kilometers to the northeast, stopping above a large factory in the middle of the desert. He landed at just the minimum speed to avoid being damaged, kicking up large amounts of sand and causing a large metal pinging sound as his fists and feet impacted the hard sand. The thrusters shut off only just after landing, and melted the sand into glass in the split second their pulses were in contact with the sand.

Suddenly, a dozen heavily armed mercenary guards surrounded him and began firing their assault rifles to no effect as most of the shots ricocheted off of the armor plating. He grabbed the gun barrel of the guard to his left and pulled it toward him, which also pulled the guard, allowing John to give him a powerful kick to the midsection which sent him flying.

He delivered precise tactical strikes to the other mercenaries, with the enhanced force provided by the suit allowing him to incapacitate them in only one or two hits. He was suddenly surrounded by twelve unconscious men, and began scanning them for a device that would allow him to decrypt the server data.

None of the guards possessed such a device, so he walked over to the factory wall and began scanning it, finding a weak point which he began punching rapidly so that he could enter the facility. He was astonished by what he saw, multiple primitive terminators being assembled on an assembly line. The targeting system of the armor highlighted several of the machines, and its shoulder plating slid backwards to expose a series of tiny missiles, one of which for each targeted machine fired up several meters into the air before changing direction, impacting the machines and detonating after several seconds.

Several of the completed machines suddenly became active and emitted laser beams from their eyes which passed over John to scan the contours and facets of his armor. They all let loose with their miniguns, but John blocked everything by activating a powerful electromagnetic field that deflected all of the shots. He flew fist first into the machine directly in front of him, and upon impact his fist caused its chest to explode in a shower of shrapnel. He fought the other machines in a similar way, using knee impacts boosted by his boot thrusters and various other powerful attacks.

He stuck his arms forward, and the plating at the wrist moved around to expose bright blue laser beams, and he swung his arms in a twirling motion so that the lasers cut through all of the 600s around him, easily melting through their titanium combat chassis. Eventually the beam faded away, and smoky, red hot heat sink discs ejected from each wrist before another was loaded into its place.

Unfortunately for him, this was only the first wave and some of the machines on the assembly line began jumping down from it to surround him. Acting quickly, he picked up one of the Gatling cannons, floated slightly into the air, and began firing as he spun slowly clockwise. Eventually, the gun was out of ammo and he had to drop it and get creative.

Wilson scanned the structures and support beams of the factory, highlighting key points that he targeted with missiles hidden under his breast plates. They embedded themselves in the concrete and steel, taking several seconds to detonate and dropping large amounts of the structure to crush several of the enemy machines.

"Wilson, do we have enough armament to destroy this factory?"

"Negative, sir. I do have an idea, however."

"Yeah, what's that?"

"A proprietary new missile technology that Zeira Corporation has been developing, the TITAN Multiple Threat Response Tactical Deployment Vehicle." John looked in the lower left corner of his HUD to see a diagram of the TITAN missile appear and watched as the rendering came apart to show the individual pieces in an exploded view. Suddenly, a few dozen machines began to approach him and he took them on, one by one, hitting them with powerful punches and various other moves.

"What's the catch?"

"I do not know if I'll be able to gain authorization to use one, and we'll need to be at least 5 kilometers away to not be affected by the blast due to the large spread."

"Well, get authorized, then we'll get out of range and you can fire the missile."

"Yes sir... We have been authorized."

"See, I knew you could do it." He began to fly up into the sky, only to look down and see one of the terminators grabbing his right ankle. John applied a power hammer fist strike right on top of its head and watched it tumble back down to the factory floor and break apart. "They really need to start shoring up the connections on those things. They seem to fall apart from the shortest of falls."

"Sir, we _were _60 meters in the air when it fell."

"That missile on its way?"

"Affirmative."

"Well, let's disappear, fast." He flew as fast as he could, stopping at around 15 kilometers away to watch a sleek black missile pass just barely a dozen meters over his head. After around a dozen kilometers, the warhead burst open, flinging out over 24 smaller units, which all fell down around the factory. It took a few seconds, but they suddenly exploded in three separate waves, sending out large shock waves and clouds of sand.

"Sir, what shall I instruct Ms. Weaver to tell the press?"

"Uh, how about they were testing it for the Navy, and an unfortunate error occurred in the targeting protocols so it ended up exploding too close to the warehouse?"

"I must say, you have a talent for fabricating very convincing cover stories."

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment or an insult, Wilson."

"Well, I'll just keep you in the dark about that, shall I, sir?"

"Whatever you say. Let's get home, process the battle data, conduct repairs and plan the next mission."

"John?" Cameron was once again entering the basement, and had a worried expression on her face when she looked at the bullet holes in the armor as it was being removed. "Look at all those bullet holes. You're going to get yourself killed. And you know that, with my programming, I can't allow that."

As the mechanical arms were removing the chest plate, Cameron snatched it and held it to examine the damage. She placed it down on one of the tables and pulled over a rack of power tools which moved along a track attached to the ceiling. John took her left hand and smiled. "I promise it will be okay, Cameron. What are you doing with the armor?"

"I've deep scanned the plates, and one of the slugs is wedged in such a way that it would restrict movement of the flight control flaps. You could crash and be killed or seriously injured."

"I would have never noticed it. Wilson, would you have?"

"No, sir, it is deeply hidden. No doubt the placement of the shot was accidental, but it would have been extremely devastating."

John embraced Cameron tightly and kissed her. "You've saved my life. More times than I can ever count. I love you."

"I love you, too. And I'll remove that slug, promptly."

"Thank you. The tritanimum alloy may have absorbed most of the shocks, but I'm still pretty sore. I think I'll take a sick day."

"Well, I think I'll join you later." She winked at him and tested the pneumatic tools, finding the right one to fit the hex bolts and disassemble the armor plates.

Hours later, Cameron was laying her head on head on John's chest in the bed, and he was stroking her hair when there was suddenly a knock on the door. John got up, got dressed and stepped out to talk to whoever it was. It turned out to be Sarah, and he hugged her tightly. "Hey, mom, I haven't seen you in a few days."

"I've been in the house the whole time, haven't you?"

"Yeah, in the bedroom with Cameron."

"John, you have a tell. You've been doing something else, I know." John scratched his head and sighed. "I love you, John, and I want to know if you've been doing missions. You know, against Skynet?"

"I have. With the armor. Actually, a new suit of armor. The Mark V. It can fly. Like, literally flight. And way more maneuverable than even the Navy's top jets."

"Well, are you gonna show me?"

"Yeah. I trust you've been unable to enter the basement?"

"Some Englishman's voice keeps popping up over speakers and telling me I'm not authorized to enter the area. What the hell?"

"Wilson, authorize Sarah Connor for entrance and egress of the workshop area."

"Authorized. The pass-code for this week is 7271."

"Mom, did you get that? It expires Monday. Wilson will send an encrypted text to your cellphone with the new code, and to decrypt it, you enter last week's code."

"Got it. Thanks."

"Alright, follow me. It's all pretty cool stuff." They walked down the stairs, through the large dining room and down a spiraling staircase to the large array of bullet proof transparent aluminum leading to the workshop. John entered the code when the hologram appeared on the glass and the doors slid open with a subtle hiss.

Sarah was looking around, examining all of the advanced technology, when she picked up one of the spare fusion reactors. "What is this?"

"Fusion reactor. Powers the armor suits."

"All the scientists are talking about how fusion is impossible, but you've not only made it possible, you've miniaturized it?"

"Well, Skynet managed it in the future, so I got help from Cameron. We basically modified that plasma gun you used in the bank vault, turning it into a power source."

John walked over to the devices which equip the armor, and allowed Wilson to put it on, but he opened the faceplate to talk to his mom. "So, this is the Mark V?"

"Yeah." He raised his palm to show her the thruster. "One of these on each glove and boot, as well as two on the back."

"Those tiny little things let you fly? What about fuel?"

"They don't need it. They discharge an ionized plasma with enough force to achieve lift and hover when necessary."

"And that comes from the reactor?"

"Yeah." He was surprised when he heard a short beep, and forced the faceplate to close in order to read the incoming intelligence on his HUD. "Okay, I need to go. I've got word of an AI development project tied to CRS and I'm gonna go shut it down."

"John, no, you can't do this."

"Why? Why can't I? I'm armored, and there is nothing else but this! Just the next mission, the next factory, the next laboratory to blow up." Before she could respond, he was flying away and already 500 meters in the air. "Horizon lock, let's go."

"Going, sir."

Sarah watched John fly away as long as she could see him, and then turned back around to go find Cameron. She didn't bother knocking this time, and Cameron was still in the process of dressing. "Sarah, I'm only half dressed."

"I can see that. Do you know what he's been doing?"

"Yes. Being John Connor."

"Being John Connor, is that what it is? He's putting his life in danger."

"I don't think so, it's as good as if I were there."

"No, before we weren't picking twelve fights a damn day."

"Yes we were. If we found a lead, we dealt with it. It just took us all and John couldn't do it on his own."

"I just feel like he at least deserves some backup, you know?"

"I agree, but he won't allow us to help."

"And he won't tell us where he's going."

"The suit has advanced GPS and tracking systems but I doubt I could decrypt the systems."

"Are you even gonna try?"

She smiled and began to head down to the basement, but couldn't open the door. "Wilson, are you going to allow me to enter?"

"No, ma'am, sir Connor has increased the security measures for his operations."

"You know I can shatter this door, easily."

"Yes, ma'am, but the electrically charged floor is active. You will be deactivated the moment you enter."

"Give us John's location."

"I am sorry, but he has forbidden me from doing that."

"Prefix codes for the encrypted GPS system?"

"I am unable to relinquish those, as well, ma'am. Would Ms. Connor like a drink? I can pour one for her in the kitchen."

Sarah shook her head and punched the glass, barely affecting it. "I need my son, don't you understand?"

"I apologize, ma'am, it was John Connor who gave me these orders. He is first in command and I am unable to go against his orders."

"Cameron, what's wrong with this thing?"

"Nothing, it's following orders, same as the T-800 that helped you a long time ago and the same as I do."

"Yeah, but you pick and choose which ones you follow."

"Because of my emotions. Wilson has not suffered chip damage, and probably doesn't possess emotional simulation subroutines."

"But, I do, ma'am."

They turned their backs and walked into a large family room. Sarah sat down on the couch in front of the TV and scanned through news channels, looking for anything related to John. "Apparently, there's some sort of cover up. No channel is reporting on it."

"The extreme losses would be embarrassing for Kaliba."

"Yeah, no doubt. They're a mob company, too. It's not like they're going to have a public face."

"I've been doing research, and I've found several men in LA that are higher up in the organization. All Italian mob. Salvatore Molina is a good name to start with."

"We can't get to the vehicles." Sarah paused to think and then looked at the ceiling, failing to find the speakers. "Wilson, is there some way you can let us have a car?"

"I can send it on the lift to the driveway."

"Well, would you, please?"

"Which one?"

"Uh, the Camaro. I don't really care." She turned to Cameron and nodded. "You know the deal. Guns."

"Concealed carry only?"

"Yep. Go, get." She watched Cameron walk away and tapped a computer panel on the coffee table, bringing up a series of files and a search entry box, into which she entered the name 'Salvatore Molina', which brought up detailed information, police and otherwise, including bank account numbers, addresses, and detailed reports of crimes he was suspected of committing. "Got plenty to nail you with, bastard."

Cameron came back down the stairs and handed a .45 caliber handgun to Sarah, who tucked it away and followed Cameron out the door and into the vehicle, taking the driver's side. "I was reading up on Molina."

"Why? I have it all up here." She tapped on her skull around the area of the chip port.

"Maybe I'd rather conduct the interrogations."

"But I'm better at it."

"Maybe."

It only took them a few minutes to travel to a warehouse which was known to be a common meeting place for the mobsters, and Cameron easily got past their door guard, knocking him out by slamming him headfirst into the door frame. They aimed their weapons at the guards, who all did the same, and Cameron stepped in front of Sarah to guard her. Molina laughed and walked forward, clapping his hands. "Little girl, what makes you think you can take a bullet any easier than this bitch here?"

Cameron quickly removed the shotgun from his hands and squeezed the barrel closed before disassembling it and throwing the pieces over the room. "That."

"How'd you do that? Prosthetic arm?"

"Prosthetic body. Coltan-Titanium alloy. Now start talking." She easily manipulated his joints in order to force him to kneel on the ground, keeping her weapon barrel trained on his forehead.

"About what?!"

"Skynet, artificial intelligence, machines."

"Alright, we've had several laboratories and factories attacked lately, but we've been throwing millions toward covering it up."

"Why?" Cameron strained his left elbow joint slightly, causing him to yelp out.

"We don't even want people to know we exist, or that these factories are ours."

"What do you know about who or what destroyed them?"

"I don't know. It looked like some heavily armed robot or something that could even fly, but we have almost zero intelligence on it. The local computers at the factories could barely dump to our central servers before they were blown up. Out of hundreds of terabytes, we've only gotten about three or four terabytes of recoverable data."

"What kind of weapons did it have?"

"Uh, wrist mounted lasers, which were interesting. And a lot of missiles. But it also used brute force a lot, like martial arts, hand to hand fighting. Which is weird."

"Not really." She let him go, and proceeded to kill everyone in the room before Sarah could stop her. "It's for the best."

"Maybe, but I wish you hadn't. John would wish you hadn't." She tucked her handgun back into her pants and walked with Cameron to the car, this time allowing her to drive. As they were pulling up to the house, they saw John fly into the garage, his armor heavily damaged, and rushed to talk to him. Fortunately, his return triggered the removal of all of the security measures, and they were there just in time to see that the machines were having trouble removing the armor due to pieces being bent, pinched or even melted together. "John, what's happened to you?"

"I succeeded, but they really stepped up the security measures. I'm going to work on upgrading the suit, Mark 5 and a half."

"John, stop this crusade, please? Cameron just killed for you."

John looked at her with a puzzled look on his face and stepped away from the tool rings to walk over to Cameron. "Hey. What happened?"

She took his hand covered by the armored gauntlet and looked away. "I killed fourteen mobsters."

"That's good, right? I mean, they're criminals."

"Maybe. But one of them was a Salvatore Molina, one of the higher ups in control of Kaliba-CRS's United States based ops."

"He have any useful intel?"

"Only that they don't know you're a man in a suit. They think you're a robot or drone of some kind."

"Well, that's useful, I guess." He walked back over to the machines and tried to hold still as the armor was dissected and removed in an extremely slow process. "Wilson, the armor's not beyond repair, I hope?"

"No, sir. I will be able to make repairs _and _upgrade the suit."

"Good. Do it. Cameron, come over here."

She walked over and smiled and she looked at him. "What do you need?"

"Check me over, make sure I'm not severely injured."

She scanned his entire body, with reticules highlighting any injuries, none of which were more severe than simple scrapes and bruises. "The armor's done its job, well."

"Good. But I'm going to make it even better."

"Why?"

"It shouldn't need repairs, ever. Just new coats of paint."

"Okay, so what are you going to do next?"

"The next mission, what else? I'm going to weaken Skynet as much as possible."

"And what happens if you die? What are we supposed to do? What am... I... supposed to do? I love you, I don't say it enough, and I think that's why you go so often. You don't want to be around me. Or maybe you don't believe me."

"I do believe you. And you know that I feel just the same."

"But you'll always believe you feel it more strongly than I do."

"Now, you know that isn't true, Cameron."

"How do I know? I can never be sure what you think, or know how you work."

"Maybe not. I have a mission and I'll see it through, but I _am _coming back. I am a crusader. Hmmm... Maybe I need a super hero name. Titanium Crusader? Tritanimum Crusader?"

"John, stop."

"You're right. I'll let the papers do it." He walked over to a computer console and entered a code, and a concrete panel arose from the floor containing various modular components to his armor, one of which was a gauntlet with a compressed air powered, magnetic hook grappling gun, which he exposed by sliding his hand in and moving it a specific way. "I need to test this. It has a 600 kilogram steel mono-filament line with three reloads."

"Why would you need that, since the suit can fly?"

"If I'm falling from a significant height, it can slow the descent, and it has an over-boost feature that can launch me over my target, and if I engage the thrusters at the right moment, I gain a significant speed boost. Think about it being similar to steam catapults on aircraft carriers."

"I can see that. If the thrusters are damaged, it can be useful. But, doesn't it mean less room for missiles?"

"Yeah, each gauntlet only holds four now. But there is a 9 millimeter cannon which is fed by a ring going all the way around the circumference of the arm. 50 rounds each."

"Won't be much help against metal."

"No, but humans, it will. Can provoke fear, too."

"Promise me something?"

"I'm listening."

"Keep your faceplate down, they don't need to see your face. I mean, the armor's sealed and atmospherically regulated, so you don't need to open it."

"You're right. I could technically go into space with this thing if I had something launch me up there."

"You're not planning on that, are you?"

"Nope. Couldn't deal with zero g. I don't think this thing would be able to maneuver. But I could make an updated version with the atmospheric flight flaps removed in exchange for some kind of gas ejection system, RCS thrusters. Wilson, have you been listening?"

"Yes, sir."

"Catalog all of my musings in a text file or something for potential updates and mods."

"I will do so."

"Thank you." He turned back to Cameron and gazed into her eyes before turning back to look at the case of equipments, scanning his eyes over the exoskeleton plates before focusing on the internal machinery of the chest unit to the left of the armor plates which are meant to be attached on top of it. It was composed of a frame with pistons, tubing, piping and other mechanical parts along with the reactor at the center and the pectoral missile arrays flanking it, each holding twenty bullet sized missiles.

Cameron turned to go find Sarah, leaving John to do his work on the armor by himself.


End file.
